The musical, masterfully directed and choreographed by Brian Cowing, traces the story of 11-year-old Winnie Foster (Niesen), a spunky young girl who longs for adventure rather than the rules of Victorian etiquette and mourning. 25 - I predict that, like the musical Big Fish, it will instead have a long life in regional theaters, particularly if it’s done this well in other venues.

I can’t speak to what prevented Tuck from becoming a Broadway hit, but after seeing CTM’s production of the piece - at Overture through Feb. In his review in Vulture, Jesse Green predicted that the show would be relegated to “gymnacafetoriums” in middle schools across the country. That latest incarnation - a musical, with a book by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle, music by Chris Miller and lyrics by Nathan Tysen - got a tepid reception from critics and closed after only 39 performances. Natalie Babbitt’s book Tuck Everlasting is a standard on middle school reading lists and had been translated into movies and stage plays before it made its Broadway debut in 2016. This tree overlooks a revolving stage-cum-giant clock - the ideal platform for a magical journey that examines life, death and immortality through buoyant songs, inspired choreography and delightful performances by the 28-person cast, led by the luminous 13-year-old Malea Niesen and uber-talented APT regular James Ridge. On the keepsake’s lid is an intricate carving of a tree - mirrored in the enormous the tree that towers over the performers, carefully wrought to fill the entire back wall of the Overture’s Playhouse (stunning design by Christopher Dunham).

James Ridge plays the Man in the Yellow Suit and Malea Niesen plays Winnie Foster in 'Tuck Everlasting.'Ĭhildren’s Theater of Madison’s regional premiere of the musical Tuck Everlasting begins with a frail and aged Winnie Foster (Trudy Barash) listening to a delicate tune on a music box, given to her by a friend long ago.

Elixir of immortality big fish