Evergreen Playhouse’s spring musical, “Tuck Everlasting,” is a whimsical tale bursting with bright colors, fun songs and quirky characters.
Beneath that surface, however, lies a deep, existential question: If you could live forever, would you want to?
Physical immortality may be out of our reach for us, but not for the characters of the fictional town of Treegap, New Hampshire, where “Tuck Everlasting” takes place.
Based on Natalie Babbitt’s popular children’s novel of the same name, the musical follows preteen Winnie Foster as she runs away from home and meets the Tucks, a family who gained immortality by drinking from a nearby magical spring over 80 years prior.
“It sounds great on the surface: Who wouldn’t want to live forever?” said Lucy Page, who plays the Tuck family matriarch, Mae Tuck. “But the reality is, of course, that it’s very sad. They don’t ever grow. They’re all stuck in one spot. Nothing can change for them.”
After meeting the Tucks, the audience follows Winnie as she decides for herself whether or not to drink from the spring, while simultaneously trying to protect it from the nefarious Man in the Yellow Suit.
“It’s really about the question, if you had the opportunity, would you drink? Would you want to live forever?” director Matthew Michael said.
The answer the story encourages is summed up in what Michael said is his favorite quote from the show: “‘You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.’ I just thought, it’s so simple but it’s so true.”
“That lesson of just enjoying your life while you’re living it is just something we all can be learning from right now,” Page said.
The story itself is full of life, something Michael said he hoped to highlight with a simple, yet fantastical, set that lets the actors and the story itself take the spotlight.
While her character is the vehicle for exploring a heavy question, 14-year-old actress Elizabeth Osborne said playing Winnie has been fun so far, adding that she’s enjoyed acting alongside her friends and playing a character younger than she is.
“It’s been fun getting to be childish and just be 11 again,” she said.
When asked what message he would ask audiences to keep in mind as they watch the show, Michael said, “Immerse yourself in the story. It’s a really fun story and there’s a lot of fun characters in it and it’s family-friendly.”
He encouraged audiences not to make direct comparisons to the 1981 or 2002 movies, which were separate adaptations of Babbitt’s novel and aren’t directly related to the musical.
The musical itself, which premiered in 2015, took some liberties with the source material, Matthew said, but it maintains the core elements of the novel.
Cast List
Jesse Tuck: Nathan Crummett
Mae Tuck: Lucy Page
Miles Tuck: Henry Wegener
Angus Tuck: Rich Garrett
Winnie Foster: Elizabeth Osborne
Mother: Michelle Koenen
Nana: Alene Stewart
Man in The Yellow Suit: Nicole Galyean
Constable Joe: Derek Wilson
Hugo: Karsten Tomlin
Ensemble: Lizzie Conner, Jordan McMahon, Samantha Gunter, Aubrey Meadows, Finley Stidham, Jennifer Wallace, Brittany Wilcox, Margaret Page
Crew List
Director: Matthew Michael
Musical Director: Brynn Walker
Stage Manager: Brenda Crummett
Choreographer: Amanda Bronkema
Costumes: Matthew Michael
Set Design/Scenic Painting: Matthew Michael, Theresa McKenzieSullivan
Set Construction: Theresa McKenzieSullivan, Isaac McKenzieSullivan, Mark Pendleton
Properties: Matthew Michael
Light Design: Danielle Kays
Sound Operator: Jessica Crummett
Light Operator: Cora Dailey
If You Go
The Evergreen Playhouse is located at 226 W. Center St. in Centralia.
“Tuck Everlasting” opens Friday, May 5 and runs through Sunday, May 21, with 7:30 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. shows on Sundays. A pay-what-you-can artist’s benefit is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 11.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, and can be purchased at the door or online at https://evergreenplayhouse.com/tickets.
