Arden’s ‘The Hobbit’ is a delightful children’s adventure

J.R.R. Tolkien’s enduring tale The Hobbit, about the plucky Bilbo Baggins journeying with a group of dwarfs to slay a dragon and regain their land, has been around since 1937. It has become a modern classic, with our most recent public touchstone being the epic Peter Jackson films.

However, Tolkien’s original book is geared toward younger audiences, and Arden Children’s Theatre is staging a delightful production that both embraces that original intention and basks in the simplicity a good story can afford.

The Arden production utilizes a simple yet effective set designed by Sasha Jin Schwartz. Bathed in earth tones, it’s nondescript enough that the performers are able to effectively reconfigure it to transport the audiences to new locations throughout the story.

Lighting, designed by Maria Shaplin, works cohesively with the set, creating luscious stage imagery. It is delightful to see the two mediums working so well in tandem, and both successfully support director Rebecca Wright’s choice to use a minimalistic approach in the storytelling. After all, the most enduring star of The Hobbit has never been Mr. Baggins, but Tolkien’s story itself.

One minor downside, further highlighted by the fact that the light and set work so well together, is that the monochromatic costumes by Nikk Delhomme sadly stand out from the other design elements. They’re playful and colorful, and the way they help the actors transition between characters is wildly inventive, yet the bright colors don’t feel like they inhabit the same world as the set, sound, and lighting.

The five-person cast works strongly together, with four of the five actors playing multiple characters with ease. Eliana Fabiyi does a delightful job as Bilbo, imbuing the hobbit with an uncertain charm and willingness to explore that really grounds the production.

The choice to include music was also very welcome, and a good way to keep the “road trip” of a Tolkien story engaging for the target audience of kids and families. Though secretly, I must admit I wished for a playful nod to Leonard Nimoy’s “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins,” music copyright laws be damned!

At over 300 pages, Tolkien’ story is a dense book, and this production includes the entire tale. Unfortunately, the task of condensing this long story into a two-hour production means that they aren’t fully able to let any moments sit and resonate. The pace of the script is lighting fast, bouncing from one monster encounter to another, with few moments to breathe and recalibrate the characters.

If you’re not familiar with the The Hobbit, it could be a little hard to follow at times. It’s a lot of fun, but the pace out of necessity keeps us at a bit of a distance from the characters, which unfortunately undercuts some of the more dramatic final moments.

Overall, the Arden Children’s Theatre production of The Hobbit is delightful. It’s a wonderful encapsulation of the beauty of storytelling and how effective it can be. It is also nice to see a children’s theater production that is not a retread of a fairy tale, but instead a more modern children’s story adapted for the stage.

While the script moves very fast, the production still succeeds in engaging its audience with the themes at the center of The Hobbit, reminding them that there’s always time to go on a wonderful adventure and inviting them to join this one.

(Community/Arts)

J.R.R. Tolkien’s enduring tale about the plucky Bilbo Baggins journeying with a group of dwarfs to slay a dragon and regain their land, adapted for stage.

⌚️ Through June 1,📍 40 N. Second St., 🌐 ardentheatre.org

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