Once upon a time, there was a full moon, a castle looming high on a hill and a boy named Edward who had scissors for hands. Plus 31 talented dancers.
Imagination reigns in the family-friendly touring production of British director-choreographer Matthew Bourne's whimsical stage adaptation of Tim Burton's quirky yet touching 1990 film "Edward Scissorhands."
A modern-day "Beauty and the Beast" mix of playfulness and poignancy, Bourne's current creation may not be as dynamic as his critically acclaimed 1995 version of "Swan Lake" with its all-male chorus, but there is much to savor in this cutting-edge fantasy.
This time, the gothic fairy tale of Edward Scissorhands unfolds through theater and dance - there is no singing or speaking. Set to Danny Elfman's musical themes from the motion picture as well as new original music and arrangements by Terry Davies, the story as reconceived by Bourne has become a narrative ballet using music and movement.
Although the production imitates, it does not totally duplicate the film's plot, so Burton devotees will notice differences. First-timers to Edward's fable will not be aware of additions and omissions, though Bourne's reconceived opening scenes seem harder to follow.
For those not familiar with the plot, in the film a young man is created - Frankenstein-style - by an inventor who dies before he can endow his creation with real hands. But onstage, a real boy is electrocuted while playing with scissors during a lightning storm. Using a sewing machine, his father desperately tries to create another son from scratch, giving him several pairs of shears for hands. When the father dies during a cruel Halloween prank, Edward ventures down the hill into the town below, where he's taken in by a cheery, apron-clad homemaker, Mrs. Peg Boggs, and her family.
As this fragile misfit tries to cope and connect with his new family and so-called friends, he's painfully aware of being different. A freak with scissors for hands, he tries to endear himself to others by finding new uses for his blades. He trims the trees and bushes into topiary animals and art, and clips 'n' cuts the local ladies' tresses into trendy styles. Even the dogs get new dos. Edward also creates stunning ice sculptures, and in an effort to fit in, he dons garish Bermuda shorts and turns his lethal weapons into shish-kabob skewers at the neighborhood barbecue.
With masterly touches of humor, Bourne delivers hilarious stereotypes of 1950s suburbia (can you say Stepford?). His inhabitants resemble cartoon caricatures, and he endows them with outrageous physical moves and gestures. Welcome to Hope Springs, where Edward's host family, the friendly, "Father Knows Best" Boggses, are down-to-earth types. The filthy-rich and suave Mayor Upton and his wife Charity sport hoity-toity attitudes, as do their perfectly dressed daughter Darlene and egotistical jock son James. While the highly devout Rev. Judas Evercreech and his family ooze satanic pretension, the earthy Grubbs typify crass, crotch-scratching, beer-chugging white trash. The Monroes? Let's just say their son is a flaming queen, and his "desperate housewife" mother is a raging-hormonal sexpot who's cuckolding her nerdy husband with another neighborhood patriarch, Mr. Covitt.
It's no easy feat to follow the shear glory of the charismatic Johnny Depp. But Richard Winsor, who portrayed Edward on opening night, gallantly gives his all in a heartfelt performance. Like Depp, Winsor has a fright hairdo and wears skin-fitting dark leather. But Depp didn't have to dance. With balletic grace, Winsor hoists and maneuvers his blades to show Edward's vulnerability, bravado and trepidation. As when, for instance, a mobile chimes overhead in the Boggs daughter's pink bedroom and frightens poor Edward. Ditto for the jewelry-box ballerina until he imitates her swirling movements.
As the nosy neighbors who come knocking at the Boggs door, Michela Meazza slithers and slinks as Joyce Monroe, the neighborhood nympho. Deliciously flaunting original sin, this red-headed floozy's so obsessed with Edward, she refuses to take no for an answer.
But it is the Boggses' preppy daughter Kim who's snagged his heart. Edward longs to win her love, despite her obvious infatuation with the handsome hotshot James Upton. James Leece plays this high-school hunk with just the right mix of swagger and macho repellence, while Hannah Vassallo turns Kim into a perky teenage sweetheart. As her mother Peg, Madelaine Brennan personifies the happy homemaker with her frilly white apron and motherly demeanor.
In Act One's finale, the Topiary Ballet, an exquisite dream sequence with dancing foliage and a classical pas de deux, Edward loses his scissor hands and wins Kim's love. But in Act Two's final duo between Edward and Kim, their feelings become a bittersweet reality. Winsor actually dances with his scissors, an amazing physical challenge. But despite these 20-inch-long metal phalanges, he lunges, lifts and spins Vassallo to proclaim Edward's ardor and commitment.
Though the scenes sometimes go on too long, the 31-member ensemble is at its best in the big production numbers, such as the Boggses' barbecue and the annual Christmas Ball. You'll see an eclectic mix of dances, from elegant waltzes and lively swing routines to be-bop and Latin rhythms.
During the gorgeous Christmas soiree, which is a countdown to the show's denouement, partygoers in tuxedos and sparkling evening gowns whirl around a towering holiday tree. After the jealous James spikes his punch, a drunken and dancing Edward becomes the life of the party - a Christopher Walken moment - until he accidentally slashes a young boy's face. Sorry to say, Edward's 15 minutes of fame have run out.
Designer Lez Brotherston brings the town of Hope Springs to life with ticky-tacky matchbox houses splashed in pastel colors. His fanciful approach spills over to hairdos, costumes and topiary art; then he switches to artistic delicacy with a spectacular ice-sculpted angel.
Thanks to Paul Groothuis' sound design, the townsfolk wake to chirping birds and crowing roosters. And Howard Harrison's lighting creates an ominous full moon and crackling lightning, and ignites the holiday tree when Edward shorts it out. Best of all, simulated featherlike snowflakes start to fall when Kim returns Edward's love.
Although Bourne's theatrical vision may lack the emotional impact of Burton's genius, it's impossible to resist Edward's sensitive and tragic soul, especially when he discovers he cannot touch what he desires without destroying it.
Besides, the stage production asks the same philosophical question as the film. Who are the real freaks of life? The strange, lonely boy who yearns to be accepted - or the people who exploit, taunt and subsequently shun him?
'EDWARD SCISSORHANDS' 5th Avenue Theatre Tuesday-Sunday through May 13 Tickets: $20-$73, 625-1900[[In-content Ad]]
