BWW Reviews: Moorestown Theater Company's MAGIC TREE HOUSE: A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS, JR. is a Holiday Treat!

Moorestown Theater Company, Inc., a community theater founded in 2003 by Producing Artistic Director, Producer and Director Mark Morgan (along with his wife Carol Ann Murray and her mother Beverly Bennett) presented their first ever page-to-stage world premiere of Magic Tree House: A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens, Jr. on December 20 and 21, 2014 at the Upper Elementary School (325 Borton Landing Road, Moorestown, New Jersey). Morgan was eager to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local children to create a musical from scratch and succeeded admirably with this holiday heartwarmer. When the phone call from John Prignano, Senior Operations Officer for Music Theatre International (MTI), came in late September, asking if the company could take the project on, Morgan knew he would be "crazy to say no" and anticipated having some time to put it up. But the deadline was before Christmas! None of the children had any reference or familiarity with the songs, which would be heard for the first time by the public, and didn't have vocal tracks for them. "Carol Ann ended up having the music played on the piano by her mother, Bev Bennett and Carol Ann, Jackie Gonzalez and Kaitlyn Resavy sang the songs, so effectively we created our own vocal tracks," Annette De Rosa, Administrative Director, recalled. The opening show was attended by Will Osborne, co-lyricist and creative advisor and husband of Mary Pope Osborne, author of the "Magic Tree House" series, along with their business partner, Jack Desroches. They gave the production a huge thumbs up.

Based on Osborne's best-selling middle school series, the plot involves siblings Jack and Anne's latest mission from Merlin the Magician and Morgan Le Fey. It is to help famous writer Charles Dickens. They are whisked back to Victorian England to uncover the secret to his unhappiness and there they encounter chimney sweeps, Queen Victoria, down-at-heel orphans and horse-drawn hansom cabs. It is heartening to see an appreciation of Dickens as a "superstar" in an increasingly illiterate age and the story here instructs as much about the author's life and work as it imparts his message in A Christmas Carol of learning to be a kinder person. Oliver Twist, Fagan and Pickwick all make appearances.

The charming production features a rich cast of 47 local schoolchildren, ranging in ages from 6 to 17, and recreates Dickensian London with simple backdrops, aided by effective lighting and superb costumes by award-winning costume designer Thom Sirkot who evokes a Victorian picture postcard. The sheer breadth of the entire ensemble assembled onstage, voices raised in unison, is very impressive and moving and a testament to the magic that can be achieved even under pressure with combined talents and a heavy dose of skill and imagination. The leads are played by 14-year-old Ryan Coggan, well-cast as Jack, and 11-year-old Juliet Morgan who gives an assured performance as his sister Annie and unsurprisingly is a veteran of over 85 productions, first appearing onstage at age six months as "infant Annie" in MTC's first show (Annie). Also notable is Charles Dickens himself played by 14-year-old Garrett Walsh. With his distinctive bearing and deep voice, he brings the right authoritative touch to a harried, somber Dickens who would feel obliged to record the tragedy and depth of child poverty he witnessed. Although only a teen, Walsh gives the illusion of a person of stature. The eldest in the cast is 17-year-old Stephen Gross who is wonderfully abrasive as Mr. Pinch, the clear inspiration for Scrooge. He acquits himself well in the witty, bass "Bah! Humbug!"

The rest of the cast is filled with winning additions to the overall appeal like 7-year-old Kiernan Barasch, managing a Cockney accent, as a newsie and orphan; 6-year-old Jack Mattiacci as Tiny Tim; a wonderful turn by 13-year-old Cali Barton as a policeman; picturesque carolers and impish magicians; and a whole ensemble of child "orphans" whose plaintive "Who Will Hear My Song?" reflects their plight.

The second act proves to be even stronger than the first when, shades of A Christmas Carol, Dickens is visited by three ghosts (again beautifully costumed) who reawaken his commitment to writing and his own socially conscious vision.

All in all, The Magic Tree House: A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens, Jr. captures the heart of Dickens and of the show's audiences. Not only is it a wonderful Christmas offering, but it's also a great vehicle for children to develop an appreciation for theater, literature and self worth.

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