NYC Theater Review: 'Wanda's Monster'

With a catchy score and colorful characters, 'Wanda's Monster' is a book-turned-musical that preaches the importance of being open to new things -- even things that go bump in the night. Our theater editor reviews the show, playing at NYC's Dimson Theatre.

For a kids’ show aimed at the 3-7 crowd, the ability to enchant grownups as much as its core demographic generally lands somewhere between "I don't think so" and "No way."  Nevertheless, I've discovered a very cool exception to the rule: a savvy little musical called Wanda’s Monster in which "mission impossible" happily translates to “mission accomplished” thanks to a rocking score, terrific performances, and a script that refuses to talk down to the audience.

Enter Monster

Rather than launch into the “play proper,” this musical about acceptance, confronting fears, and making friends kicks off with a mini rock concert (featuring Jamie Kolnick and two back-up guitarists) that ratchets up the enthusiasm quotient by getting kids and parents on their feet, singing along and clapping. And there’s a nice little twist tucked into this intro: Kolnick plays Wanda's grandmother, who just happens to be a biker chick with a couple of Blues Brother types playing backup in her Greenwich Village “Club Granny.” (FYI, for fans of the original award-winning storybook by Eileen Spinelli, the Spandex-clad, leather-jacketed Kolnik is a far cry—and a welcome departure—from the gray-haired, central casting Granny of Nancy Hayashi’s illustrations.)

Just as Granny is finishing her set (a bop-along number called “Wanda, Watcha Wanna Do?”), the Monster ambles toward the stage. He moves gingerly, although he can’t resist grooving a bit to the music.

More Sendak than Barney, the Monster (James Ortiz) arrives sporting burly purple fur with orange tufts around the horns on his head, long lavender claws, and a seriously bulbous nose. Funny-looking yes, but pretty darn overwhelming for some little ones (the curly-haired 3-year-old next to me promptly buried her face in her mom’s lap). Still, most of the kids in the audience were thrilled—pointing, laughing, and loving it when the Monster notices the kids for the first time and reveals himself to be shy and scared of them.

Should you find your little theatergoer to be skittish or even tearful, take comfort in the fact that she’ll surely be won over before the show ends. And that’s the whole point of the play: overcoming fear of the unknown. It’s just a matter of being open to new things—even the things that go bump in the night.

An Unlikely Friendship

But back to the storyline. Once Granny and company exit, the lights come up on Wanda’s bedroom and the title character bounds in, fresh from school, as the Monster attempts to hide. Wanda is played by Laura Hankin, a fully grown young actress who is nevertheless totally believable as the 5-year-old she portrays. Whether interacting with her toys or plucking dress-up paraphernalia from her scores of drawers, Wanda comes across as a typical, smart little girl trying to understand all kinds of confusing and frightening things that make childhood so challenging—including monsters, like the one she strongly suspects has taken up residence in her closet.

Not surprisingly, the songs she sings during the show track her concerns and gradual understanding of her not-so-unique situation, starting with fear (“There’s a Monster in My Closet”) and progressing to rationalization (“Monsters Aren’t Real”) and finally sympathetic acceptance, taught to her by her insightful Granny (“Monsters Are Shy”). And even though her brother Bobby (Nick Flatto) insists her Monster only exists in her imagination, Wanda slowly initiates a kid-monster détente by slipping the furry galoot little gifts each day—like a stuffed animal to keep him company, a pillow to make him comfortable, and a flashlight so he won’t be scared in the dark.

Eventually, of course, the Monster lets down his guard, comes out of the closet, and lets his hair down (so to speak) during the “Monster Boogie,” a wild song and dance extravaganza that jettisons kids and adults out of their seats to boogie down with the now ecstatically happy Monster. A Monster who has—tada!—discovered unconditional friendship from a girl who was once so afraid she couldn’t fall asleep at night.