The Legend of Robin Hood rained arrows and hit the target on a thunderous Friday night's opening at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre in Little Rock.
Playwright Keith Smith's 75-minute telling of the tale is longer than usual for a children's show, talkier and more dramatic. It deals in "good strong ale," swoosh-clang swordplay and a kiss that means business.
But Noah Kaplan's rousing Robin is nothing like Russell Crowe's somber rogue in the movies -- more like a child-friendly Peter Pan with a longer, sharper feather in his cap. The outlaw life never looked merrier than here in the misty greens of Robin's six-level stage forest.
Katie Campbell's Marian not only takes up the sword herself -- she swings a better-than-Robin two blades. John Isner has a perfect grip on Little John's quarterstaff. Drew Posey's foppish Sheriff of Nottingham is no more a threat to Robin than Sgt. Garcia was to Zorro, but he knows how to hire the job done.
Smith binds all this together like an arrow-maker. Besides, he steps forward in the role of Gaffer Green to sing the play's narration with never a resort to "yoicks and away" or even "forsooth."
Bradley Anderson directs the 18-member cast that includes versatile Mark Hansen in two roles: He dies twice. But the show concludes with assurances all around that neither he nor anyone else got hurt in the midst of these slings and arrows.
Robin Hood ends the 2014-2015 children's theater season with a change of pace from the giggly antics of Go, Dog. Go! and The Cat in the Hat. The sword fights are complete with elbow jabs, Pacquiao punches and a poisoned blade, and not every tear is cried on stage.
But Robin makes off with a rich purse, in this case, of applause. Friday's opening played to a nearly full house, about 300 children and adults, and many rose to a standing ovation.
The Legend of Robin Hood continues through May 10. More information is available at arkansasartscenter.org, or by calling (501) 372-4000.
Metro on 04/25/2015