WTF’s ‘Haroun’ sure to delight

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
Evan Cabnet (Photo By Linda Carman)
WILLIAMSTOWN — A water genie wearing a plumber’s belt and a large mechanical bird play parts in the story of Haroun, a boy who sets out on a quest to restore his father’s ability to tell stories. “I love the story,” said director Evan Cabnet who adapted the play from a story by Salman Rushdie for the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s annual Free Theater, which opens next week at Buxton School. “It’s an epic children’s fantasy adventure tale on a par with ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz.’” Similarly, fantasy characters reappear in reality. For example, the large mechanical bird that carries Haroun to the fantasy world is a bus driver in reality. Cabnet, last year’s WTF Boris Sagal fellow in directing, is delighted with this year’s play, “Haroun and the Sea of Stories,” which he adapted from the Rushdie story recommended to him by a friend. The production at the Buxton School field off South Street will run from Aug. 5 to 14, except on Monday, at 6 p.m. The genie — “with a wink to Aladdin,” said Cabnet, is painted blue and wears parachute pants and turned up slippers along with the plumber’s tool belt of his real trade. His name is If, and the bus driver’s name is But, both in reference to Haroun’s father’s exasperated exclamation: “Stop with your iffing and butting.” “I think the children will love it,” Cabnet said, adding that many sly touches will appeal to adults. Among them is the description of Haroun’s father, Rashid’s, work. All the politicians hire him because, “nobody believes politicians anyway. But everyone knows what a storyteller is saying is a lie. That’s something for the adults.” The father loses the ability to tell stories, so Haroun sets out to find the source of that ability and goes to a very real place. The play deals with “the importance of stories,” Cabnet said. “The abstract villain is trying to destroy stories because he can’t control them. In our culture, things with no price tag are devalued,” he said. “You could say one of the things it’s about is free speech, about the value of things you can’t touch, and that’s a hugely important one.” He said he loves the story. “A lot of the pleasure is preserving in the play what I loved about the story. The cast is having a great time. We’re just having a lot of fun. We’re trying to keep the feeling of ease along with the great weight and meaning.” For Cabnet, free theater is special. “I love the free theater,” he said. “It’s hugely important.” Free theater, he said, attracts people who may not go to the theater regularly. For people who mostly watch television, theater can seem exclusive. “Free theater is inclusive. It’s for everyone. I love that,” he said. And the story itself underlines that “theater can’t be commodified, can’t be pinned down.” “If we make it fun, and do a good job, we’ll draw another generation of theater-goers,” Cabnet said. “If we play our cards right, maybe they’ll come back next time.” This is Cabnet’s fifth year at WTF. “I started the first summer after graduation and worked my way up the ranks. I assisted the big shots and put on my shows in The Log in the middle of the night, and rehearsed outside in the dark,” he said. “I owe the place a lot.” Cabnet, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia, said his track into theater was “the inevitable story.” I was in school plays when I was little. I liked it. I loved telling stories, so I love the role of the director. Directing lets me be the link between the story on the page and the production.” At New York University, where he studied theater, he said, “I saw a show pretty much every single night the first year. I kept a journal of everything I saw. By the time I graduated, I had a crystal clear idea of the work I wanted to do and the theaters I wanted to work in. And WTF was part of that.” Now Cabnet splits his time between directing plays that he or others have written way off Off-Broadway, and assisting on Broadway. “It balances out,” he said. This summer’s production of Haroun is based on a story Rushdie wrote for his son. It is not overtly political but, Cabnet said, “Names and locations correlate with Kashmir.” “[Rushdie] tries very hard to keep it ethnically open. If there is value in presenting a play that may or may not be from that region, it is not the message or the moral but the value of having a boy named Haroun, whose father is named Rashid. That’s as far as it goes. Rushdie is a man without borders, and this work is very much without borders, especially in terms of costumes.” The location is described as “the city so sad it has forgotten its name,” Cabnet said. “It could be anywhere, here or halfway around the world. “The characters in the real world will not be incredibly foreign, but in the fantasy world they’ll be all over the map,” he said. Haroun also confronts a familial dilemma. “One of his goals is to fix a broken home,” Cabnet said. “The mother leaves. That’s something you never see in this genre. It’s a very real and sad dilemma. “The play is touching, occasionally quite sad, occasionally quite realistic. It’s a beautiful story.”
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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