WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS is where the fun starts
WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS
Reviewed by Jeffrey R Smith of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle
The Boxcar Theatre, which has currently alighted at 505 Natona Street in San Francisco, is presently performing WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS: a compilation of Shel Silverstein's work that has been artfully "lifted from the page; onto the stage."
If you dared to treat your children or your parents, custodian or parole officer treated you to any of the whacky works (THE GIVING TREE, WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, LIGHT IN THE ATTIC and FALLING UP, etc.) of Shel Silverstein then it will be "deja vu all over again" watching this most delightful show.
As Shel exhorted us, " . . . if you're creative person, you should just go about your business, do your work and not care about how it's received."
It is obvious that director Nick Olivera, a.k.a. Sicko Nicko, pays heed to Shel's credo.
His stage production is concocted of life-size puppets, a shadow box, phosphorescent or luminescent tubing, zany props, silly gags and dazzling costumes.
John Foley (Uncle Albert) puts forth a tremendous performance as the avuncular curmudgeon who does his best to precipitate on everyone's parade and ultimately learns to love Nephew Shel for who he is.
Ben Freeman (Shel) plays the quasi androgynous reclusive dreamer who in real life said, "When I was a kid: 12 or 14, around there, I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls. But I couldn't play ball; I couldn't dance. Luckily, the girls didn't want me; not much I could do about that. So I started to draw and to write."
Knowing where his strengths abounded, Shel made creativity, rather than baseball or chasing skirts, a way of life: "By the time I got to where I was attracting girls, I was already into work, and it was more important to me. Not that I wouldn't rather make love, but the work has become a habit."
Shel was not only assiduously creative and prolific; he was amusing and popular.
He continued to create plays, songs, poems, stories, and drawings until his death in 1999.
His mixed bag of works included A BOY NAMED SUE (performed by Johnny Cash and for which Silverstein won a Grammy in 1970), THE UNICORN (the signature piece of the Irish Rovers since 1968 and ubiquitous in Irish pubs to this day), THE COVER OF THE ROLLING STONE, FREAKIN' AT THE FREAKERS' BALL and SYLVIA'S MOTHER (by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show) and a bit of cautionary musical medical advice: DON'T GIVE A DOSE TO THE ONE YOU LOVE MOST.
His hits extend back to 1962 when the Brothers Four recorded the gristly serpentine hit BOA CONSTRICTOR.
Given his contributions to the world of country music, Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.
If you have a son or daughter who is derelict in household chores, this play includes an homage to Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout and a scary hygienic caveat: THE GIRL WHO WOULD NOT TAKE THE GARBAGE OUT.
Silverstein knew where to find the good life: his favorite places were Greenwich Village, Key West, Martha's Vineyard, and most importantly: Sausalito, California.
As Uncle Nestor used to say, "There is no use defending good taste."
The play WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS has messages and lessons for all of us; as Shel put it, "I would hope that people, no matter what age, would find something to identify with in my books (or plays), pick up one and experience a personal sense of discovery."
When Shel was amongst us, he never cared what the critics had to say: "I never read reviews because if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too."
Not that Shel would care, but this critic is giving WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS nothing but superlative grades: set design and directing by Sicko Nicko, original music composed and played by Christian Foster Howes, and acting are rock solid.
Collectively these elements might serve to turn on the LIGHT IN THE ATTIC: your attic.
For tickets, surf on over to www.boxcartheatre.org or call 415-776-1747.