A Wrinkle in Time Comes to Life on Stage in Lanesboro This Summer

LANESBORO—Combine a classic book of children’s fantasy, enjoyed by all ages fifty years after it was published, with enthusiastic leadership from an experienced pair of community theater veterans.

Add puppet-masters delivering creative whimsy, and a community happily engaged—including a public reading, elementary students embracing something new, and the encouragement of two area libraries, all happening months before the first curtain—and what do you have? 

Something very special in the works.

We’re talking about “A Wrinkle in Time,” this summer’s production by the Lanesboro Community Theater (LCT) based on the award-winning book by Madeleine L’Engle. Directed by Lanesboro artist and actor Sandy Webb, and assisted by Ruth Furan of Preston (a participant in community theater for nearly four decades), the play is scheduled for Lanesboro’s St. Mane Theater in July.

A “love” story

Both women are over-the-moon excited about the production and the messages it delivers.

“At its core ‘Wrinkle’ is a story about love,” says Webb. “It shows how the power of love can come from different directions. The characters are unique; its message about the importance of loving one another is one we can all relate to.”

A “Wrinkle in Time” puppet named “Aunt Beast” (left) is shown in this prototype being created by puppeteer Jill Pigott (center) with Director Sandy Webb (right). (Submitted photo)

To call the characters ‘unique’ puts it mildly. The basic plot (avoiding spoilers) is focused on three children: Meg, her younger brother, Charles Wallace, and their friend, Calvin O’Keefe. Mr. Murry, father of Meg and Charles, a physics professor, has mysteriously gone missing. 

The children encounter three celestial beings (“space aunts,” someone  has called them) who help them travel through space and time to other planets to rescue their father. On one of those planets, they encounter an enormous evil brain called “IT” that seeks to control the universe.

“A Wrinkle in Time” has elements of fantasy best brought out through the power of imagination. That’s the fun of it, says Furan, for both actors and audience. “The children discover a fifth-dimensional “shortcut” (called a ‘tesseract’) that creates a “wrinkle” between space and time, allowing them to travel instantaneously between far distant points.”

Real kids in an unreal world

The plot is other-worldly, the characters are not; which may explain why generations of kids (as well as older readers) have made “A Wrinkle in Time” so popular for so long. The story has been adapted into dozens of plays; Oprah made a movie of it in 2018 and most recently it was highlighted in “Stranger Things,” a popular Netflix series.

“The main characters are kind of oddballs,” says Furan with a smile. “But we can see ourselves in them. We can relate to their feelings. We also know what it’s like to feel awkward. We also wonder how other people see us.” 

Webb agrees. “These children become the heroes of this story; they make us think that if they can overcome challenges, so can we.”

Meg is an awkward but brave teenager. Charles Wallace is only five but surprisingly bright (“today he might be described  as ‘neuro-divergent,’” says Furan). Their friend, Calvin, a popular high school athlete, has a complicated family of his own. Even the three celestial beings have relatable personalities and quirks.

Puppets will play a key and fun role in “A Wrinkle in Time,” including this “Ant,” created by local artist Diane Knight. (Photo by Diane Knight)

Delivering this imaginative plot and its varied characters to the stage isn’t an easy task. But that’s where story-telling like this happens best, says Director Webb. “A movie might try to show you everything; live theater can’t and doesn’t do that. A play asks its audience to make a leap and suspend belief, to work with the cast to imagine the story. The wonder of theater lends itself well to a story like ‘Wrinkle’.”

From ‘Aunt Beast” to Ants

Helping spark audience imagination throughout the play will be puppets created by local artist-poet, Diane Knight (a member of Rochester’s Masque Youth Theater for many years), and Jill Pigott, (who studied at the University of Connecticut’s renowned Puppet Arts Program). The puppets in “Wrinkle” will come in all shapes and sizes. 

“We’ll meet ‘Aunt Beast,’ who is seven feet tall and four-feet wide,” says Webb. “Then there’s a human-sized, glowing character named ‘Mrs. Which’.” Keep your eyes open for the Ants, too!”

Lessons for today

While a “A Wrinkle in Time” is set in the future, it has messages for today, and for all ages, Webb says.

“Current times can be scary for people, especially for children and families. We need to remember that children don’t have the perspective of time. They may not be able to understand that while bad things can happen, things can get better again, too. The world can recover.

“A Wrinkle in Time” and “A Wind in the Door” are two of Madeline L’Engle’s ‘Time Quintet’ story series. (Photo by John Gaddo)

“While Meg seeks to rescue her father,” Webb continues, “she learns about the power of love. It makes us think, ‘how can I use the power of love in my life and in my community?’ That’s a wonderful message for all of us.”

People have already been preparing for the July performances. A “community read” has been promoted since March; public readings every Thursday continue through May 14 at Driftless Fiber Arts in Lanesboro and a local elementary class is reading and studying the novel.

Free copies of the book are available at the Preston and Lanesboro public libraries.

“We’re excited for ‘A Wrinkle in Time’!” says Furan.

“We hope all of it – the story, the lights, the characters, the sounds – will deliver a big experience in our little theater and that people will walk out saying, ‘Wow! I felt like I was out there in space, too!’