A real-life contemporary biography may seem like an unusual presentation for a company devoted to children’s theater, but then the subject of Charles Way’s “Playing From the Heart,” which is receiving its United States premiere at Imagination Stage, is equally unusual: Musician Dame Evelyn Glennie, who despite being deaf is one of the world’s foremost percussionists.
The play begins with Evelyn (Erica Siegel) at age 8, a young, headstrong tomboy growing up on a farm in Scotland with her parents (Eric Messner and Misty Demory) and her brothers Colin (Joe Brack) and Roger (Rex Daugherty). What seems like a series of earaches turns out to be the beginning of her hearing loss. A few years later, she is diagnosed as being “profoundly deaf.”
Evelyn had always dreamed of being a musician, perhaps a pianist, but that, seemingly, is now out of the question. Fortunately, she meets a sympathetic music teacher (Daugherty) who, realizing she can still recognize tone changes via touch, introduces her to percussion instruments. The play climaxes with Evelyn auditioning for acceptance to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The leading role in “Playing From the Heart” is almost as daunting a challenge to the actress playing the part as those faced by the real Evelyn Glennie. Siegel proves to be a perfect choice, embodying Evelyn’s independence and determination while never letting the audience forget that this is still a young teenage girl, with all the anxieties that come with adolescence.
Siegel receives first-rate support from the ensemble which, in addition to portraying multiple roles, takes turns manipulating the puppet playing the family dog (a wonderful touch). The show’s funniest moments are provided by Daugherty, Brack and Messner when they play, respectively, an aggressive local newspaper reporter, his photographer and their grouchy editor who decides that Evelyn would make a perfect hometown human interest story.
Janet Stanford’s creative direction keeps the story moving at a brisk pace. Recommended for children 6 and up, Imagination Stage’s “Playing From the Heart” is that rare example of a show that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
If you go
“Playing From the Heart”
Where: Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 11 a.m. Nov. 26 and 28; through Nov. 30
Tickets: $18.50
More info: 301-280-1660; imaginationstage.org
