The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) - Review

The BFG (Big Friendly Giant), on stage at the Arden Theatre Company through January 21, 2007, is a warm, magical theater experience that the whole family can enjoy. The stage adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG opens at the birthday celebration of young Sophie. When Sophie's brother gives her a copy of The BFG book as a gift, Sophie's family and friends decide to act out all the parts and bring the story to life themselves. In the story, a young orphan named Sophie is plucked from her bed by a 24-foot Big Friendly Giant and taken to Giant Country. There, she learns that at night, a group of menacing, unfriendly giants scour the globe eating human children from different countries. Sophie and BFG journey to Buckingham Palace where they convince the Queen of England to help them stop the giants. The stage performance of The BFG is filled with clever fun and wonder, incorporating beautiful dreamscapes, puppetry, and elaborate, custom-made masks. Kids and adults can delight in deciphering the BFG's humorous, mixed-up language, and watching his captured dreams unfold on stage. Kids under age six may be unnerved by the plot and/or frightened by the enormous papier-mâché giant heads worn by the actors. However, the cast remains on stage after the performance to answer questions from the audience; seeing the actors out of character offers confirmation that the giants are not real - that "it's just a show" - and can help alleviate fears in young audience members. The run time for The BFG is 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. The cast conducts a brief Q & A following the performance, and is available for a meet-and-greet in the lobby afterwards. Copies of The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) book and t-shirts are available for purchase in the lobby before and after the show, and during intermission.