Frances Hodgson Burnett's output of stories that feature children as their central characters has kept her in the popular domain for over a hundred years after she penned them. Several film and stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess sustain her popularity, so it is no wonder that The Cloverdale Playhouse's production of A Little Princess that ended its sold-out run last weekend, added to her reliability to both entertain and instruct.
Replete with imaginative puppets and scenic design by J. Scott Grinstead, and a stellar ensemble of local youth and adult actors, director Sarah Kay keeps her focus on both the entertaining and instructive elements of John Vreeke's adaptation.
With its mix of humor and pathos, A Little Princess recounts the story of young Sara Crewe [Tempe Grinstead], who is sent from India to stern Miss Minchin's [Caroline Adams] "Select Seminary for Young Ladies" in London, where her family's wealth and her clothes and manners set her apart from the other girls and she is treated like a princess. But when the money stops, Miss Minchin relegates her to a dank garret room and makes her work for her keep.
Narrated by Ram Das [Niranjan Gowda] and the Nurse [Asha Knight] -- both excellent storytellers -- we meet Miss Minchin's more compassionate sister Amelia [Jan Roeton], an array of schoolgirls, bashful servant girl Becky [Sawyer Carroll] who Sarah befriends, and Mr. Carrisford [J. Scott Grinstead], an invalid and business partner of Sarah's father.
While we might find humor in the petty jealousies and snobbish differences of opinion on many social matters, and bewail the maltreatment of society's lower classes, Sarah's ability to remain optimistic, despite her change of fortune, to keep egalitarian attitudes toward people of all classes and conditions, to forgive her detractors, and somehow earn the audience's respect through her example. Well done: Tempe Grinstead.
In today's "cancel culture", the singular lesson of A Little Princess is to treat one another with respect and understanding, something that could go a long way in easing the tensions all around us.
