We are two weeks into our run of Allyson Currin and Chris Youstra’s World Premiere musical The Dancing Princesses and are getting so much wonderful response to this ambitious and touching play. We have received a few comments and letters from patrons telling us that they object to the death of the queen, either in general or in a play for children as young as age 4. As we developed this show, our research on children and death taught us that there is no specific age when discussion of death is appropriate; it is up to individual families to find their own comfort level on the subject. We understand it will not be the same for all families. In fact, Sesame Street has just produced a very powerful moving piece WHEN FAMILIES GRIEVE .
The themes of the show spring, in large part, from the fertile mind and imagination of playwright Allyson Currin. Four years ago, Ally lost her husband to a brain tumor, leaving her and her then 9-year-old twin girls to face life without him. When she began to write this play, Ally was naturally drawn to the death of the queen and wanting to explore the grieving process with which she was so familiar. Artistic Director Janet Stanford and I encouraged her to write the play from her heart because we believe in her process and her artistry. Ally became concerned that the play was too serious. She and I had many discussions about the fact that the play was “not silly enough.” I told her many times to trust herself and her story. After all, where is it written that plays for children have to be silly?
We spend a tremendous amount of time choosing the plays that we produce at Imagination Stage, creating diverse and varied theatre experiences for our audience. We choose plays that we believe are strong in content and form, and that speak to us. We respect children and believe that material should reflect the dilemmas and emotions that our children face everyday. We aim to empower our children so that they can grow up to be the next great generation of people who care for the world. In that spirit we strive to explore the difficulties of the world in honest ways. If they are always protected from sadness and unpleasantness, children will not have the skills they need to face this challenging world they are growing up in. The theatre is a great, safe place to see the challenges of our world with your child and to open doors and generate discussions between parent and child.
At Imagination Stage, we do believe that though we can and do address serious issues, we must leave the children with a sense of hope. In The Dancing Princesses, the audience is left with the image of the mother singing in the background as her family joyfully dances. We understand that they will go on to live a happy life without her, while always cherishing her memory and spirit, especially when they dance.
