Review: Stardust/Griffin Theatre

RECOMMENDED

It’s entirely possible that you’re reading this review while standing on some block-length line for George Lucas’s final space-opera installment. And if so, you’re probably hoping against hope that somewhere within the techno-wizardry of “Revenge of the Sith,” the goofy DIY spirit of the first “Star Wars” still survives. I wouldn’t bet on that, but Griffin Theatre’s production of Neal Gaiman’s “Stardust” might serve as a worthy substitute. Despite its elaborate mythology of fairy markets, glass flowers, and vying heirs of Stormhold, “Stardust” is at root a tribute to the power of theatrical storytelling. Over the course of two generations, the chance kindness of Dunstan Thornton to a visiting stranger leads to a sweetly enchanting love story between Dunstan’s son Tristran and a fallen star. The adaptation, by Griffin’s William Massolia, deftly handles the multiple plot lines of Gaiman’s novel, walking a delicate line between wholeheartedly embracing the world of fantasy and undercutting it with clever one-liners. Without resorting to the spectacular pyrotechnics of a Lucas or Andrew Lloyd Webber, Griffin’s production manages some magic of its own: haggard witches become lovely young women, men become sheep and sheep become men, and Tristran memorably becomes a dormouse, all with a thoroughly charming theatrical sleight of hand. (John Beer) 

This production is now closed.