Commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra for a summer festival at Blossom in 1983, this little play was revived at Cornell University's Flexible Theatre under the inspired direction of Mark Lynch who had choreographed the original. Ninety percent of the dialogue is comprised of Mother Goose rhymes gleaned from memory and countless sources, some very familiar, some obscure. The play takes place "Once upon a time, not so very far from now, in a place that everyone knows." The hero of the piece is an orphaned boy called Jack, whose real name is "Johnathan, though his grandma called him Johnny. And when he was in trouble he was referred to as John..." He has made himself believe that he doesn't care about anything or anyone. His personal odyssey to understanding is the core of the play. My Son John transforms a Bag Lady, Jack's Schoolteacher, all the children from the schoolyard, and even the Narraton into characters in Jack's dream. Or is it a dream? David Gooding's score, by turns bright, lush, warm, driving and scary, always apt and interesting, lifts My Son John above ordinary children's fare.

As originally conceived, the play was done with a minimum of costumes and properties in an open tent on the lawn at Blossom Music Center

At Cornell's beautiful Flexible Theater (the accompanying photos are from that production), the play was given a lavish design with sets that included television screens, elaborate lighting and spectacular costumes. Both productions worked very well indeed.

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REVIEWS:

THE ITHACA JOURNAL A high spirited and captivating 'Mother Goose' by Beatrice Macleod

"A Mother Goose Odyssey," which played four performances at Cornell last weekend will return for five more on Oct. 18, 19 and 20 (1991)--and that's important news.

A press review now is of little concern to the young audience which applauded Saturday noon's premiere. But just in case there are parents and grandparents who haven't heard, this one is a show for the ages--all ages. Not all grown-ups at the opening performance had progeny in tow, but with or without, everyone had fun.

The story-line, probably less important to kindergartners than to their parents, is simple and charming. Jack is a loner, and because he doesn't mix with his schoolmates and enjoy their games, he's made the butt of their jokes and tricks. He doesn't even have a mother to comfort him; Cat and Dog are his only real friends.

We see the one-room school, its benched pupils-of-all ages and its droll schoolmaster. Whether at lesson-time or recess-time, the familiar jingles of Mother Goose become--ingeniously--the text for all seasons--a treat because we know it too and could recite it ourselves. When school's out, Jack's is a lonely walk home; he hears the strange voices of the forest in the moonlight. Finally at home, he creeps into bed with Dog and CAt for comfort and companionship. But sleep brings some wondrous dreams--dreams which transport him to The Fair. There he encountes Old King Cole(looking amazingly like the schoolmaster), an oracular Humpty Dumpty, an entrancing dancing doll, Old Mother Hubbard, and a whole circle of friendly types and non-stop fun crowned by a maypole jig. Jack is willy-nilly: caught up in the whirl until--back in his rumpled bed, he wakes up to a world that includes him--in the House That Jack Built.

The performances are nifty--high spirited and captivating, from the skillful agility of Frank Farrell (as Schoolmaster, Goosey Gander, Old King Cole) to the engaging, unsentimental Jack of Raafe Terrizzi. Keith Grant as Narrator finds just the right stance between involvement and detachment--a sort of recognizably sane grown-up with one foot in fantasy, the other in back-home reality. The other 15--all of them--have a ball as they rhyme-romp through the Mother Goose anthology with professional competence and confidence. Director Mark Lynch has created what every regisseur dreams of--an ensemble company.

That's the show. What of the audience? Reactions may differ, but for what they're worth to prospective audiences, here are one reviewer's impressions.

For lap-sitters, the perpetual motion, color and rhythmic sound keep young eyes fixed and fascinated, with constant change of focus taking care of short-attention spans.

For five-to-sevens, the picture-book look of the costumed characters, some sporadic familiarity with the rhymess, the lively and funny action (as in "London Bridge is Falling Down"), plus the ready acceptance of impersonation (as in Dog and Cat) are more than enough to hold attention.

For grade-schoolers, the story itself comes into focus. Kids know about meanness and loneliness. But over this baseline there's the common love of fun and teasing jokes and tongue twisters, and the comforting security of familiar rhymes and their story-book people. At this age, boredom is a familiar enemy, but the Odyssey doesn't give it a chance; the lively progress from moment to moment, the very vitality of the performers are irresistible.

For grown-ups, the chance to watch such a remembrance-of-things-past is rare, and n unexpected delight. There may be contemporary substitutes for "Rockabye Baby," but the original floats on a nostalgia generations deep.

Appreciation to Cornell Theater for investing it full production expertise in "Mother Goose." Set, costumes, lighting, sound-plot, all are handled as creatively as in the department's other major productions. And the wide-open casting of children with professionals, students with faculty and townspeople, enriches all participants with a sense of community.

To playwrights Turney and McAdoo, director Lynch and the Cleveland team of ARTS E.T.C., our thanks and just one suggestion. How about a play-renewal of Robert Louis STevenson's "Child's Garden of Verses"? It has similar magic waiting to be mined. To quote its author, "The spirit of delight comes often on small wings."

OPERA FOR YOUTH NEWS Opera for Youth in Ithace, N.Y. by Nannette Hanslowe (excerpted)

Ithaca has several splendid productions with the 1991-92 seasons, all including children in the casts and two designed especially to interest and please children.

In the fall, Mark Lynch directed a colorful and lively Mother Goose Odyssey for Cornell University's Performing Arts Center, to rave reviews and full houses.

The tremendous energy and dynamic surge of physical movement, as well as emotional poser of the production was irresistible.

With audience on three sides, a very sophisticated technical presentation--subtle lighting effects and television, screens portraying spirits not phyusically present, and a sound track giving support from recorded synthesizer accompaniment--and very convincing caharacterizations from children, Cornell undergraduates, and professional actors in residence at Cornell, this production was a joy for ear, eye and heart.

(Editor's note: Reviewer Bea MacLeod, writing in the ITHACA JOURNAL, said, "In a lively romp though some 50 of the nursery rhymes, non-stop energy spreads its irresistible contagion to the very walls fo the Flexible Theatre. This is not 'theatre for childres,' it's theatre of children. There's a critical difference." MacLeod describes Mark Lynch as the "presiding genius who makes it all happen," that is the play with music for children of all ages by Wayne S. Turney and Harper Jane McAdoo with music by David Gooding.)

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