"Celeste and Starla Save Todd and Win Back the Day" - and that's that

Sometimes, a title manages to say both everything and nothing about what happens over the course of its play. While it’s true that Celeste and her stalwart companion, Starla—a starfish with killer fashion sense—do, in fact, save Todd and win back the day, the series of events that gets them there is almost totally unpredictable.

Mercury Players Theatre is celebrating the first show in their new space by going all-out. For their second “Mercury Rising” play competition, they’ve chosen Portland author Francesca Sanders’ eccentric romp to christen the place.

The MercLab, located on Madison’s east side at 930 N. Fair Oaks Ave., is essentially a big warehouse. You wouldn’t know it, though, as you walk in to see the play. Set designers Doug Holtz and Casey Sean Grimm have transformed the old, dusty warehouse into a veritable Pee Wee’s Playhouse. Whimsical but remarkably functional, the set is full of hidden doors, pop-out structures, strange clocks and dazzling colors. The set, it could be argued, functions as a fourth actor, giving strong back-up to the three flesh-and-blood actors who make their home on it.

The story follows Celeste, played by Jessica Joan Evans, and Starla, played by a starfish, as they embark on what Celeste frequently compares to a Nancy Drew-like mystery case. When a strange old rich man enlists her help to locate his long-lost son, Todd, and to bring him back home, the journey leads Celeste everywhere from the local soda shop to Rio di Janeiro and back again. Along the way, she falls in love, battles the Violent Handyman, finds new outfits for Starla, and periodically forgets everything. That’s why she has Starla—you see, each point of her star holds “a million quadrillion bits of data” where Celeste can store her memories, since she herself isn’t so good at it.

There’s a remarkably unforeseen twist at the end of the play, but I won’t give it away. Besides, half the fun of the thing is the journey—the strange, winding, whimsical journey that is at turns both bizarre and beautiful. Evans’ Celeste is incredibly endearing, moving expertly between a sort of enthusiastic naïveté and idealism, and a refreshing air of frankness. Sean Langenecker plays the enigmatic ragdoll boy Todd, taking hilarious turns as a portrait of himself and the real deal. Langenecker is adept at playing it appropriately over-the-top without losing a sense of character that keeps his portrayal grounded.

Special note has to be given to Damon Butler, who expertly and often hilariously shifts between at least a half-dozen completely different characters: everything from the dotty old father, to a self-conscious nerd, to the exuberantly flamboyant make-up artist Esmerelda, to the fearsome Violent Handyman.

Director Greg Harris has made excellent use of both the set and his actors, helping to breathe unique life into a challenging and intricate script. “If I’m known for anything around town,” Harris noted, “it’s that I tend to really strip things down when I direct: just actors, maybe a bench, and a black stage. But with this script, I felt that it needed a lot of good visuals and color. You could do this play with just three actors and a blank stage and it would still be wonderful, but I wanted to do it this way because I think it makes the experience that much more interesting for the audience. I think we’ve managed to transform this place from just another theatre warehouse space into something really special.”

It’s hard to disagree. Between the unusual, playful script, the great acting and the amazing set, the new play can easily take its place among Mercury’s best small-scale shows. Sanders, the play’s author, even flew in from Portland to be there for the final dress rehearsals and opening weekend performances. She was well-pleased with what Mercury Players had done with her work.

“It may be strange, but I don’t get nervous seeing my own shows,” explained Sanders. “I walk in and I realize right away that I had nothing to do with this thing, it’s not mine anymore: I didn’t build the set, I didn’t direct, I’m not the actor making choices up on stage. So I’m able to really sit back and become part of the audience, and to just enjoy the show.”

Which is exactly what the packed house on opening night did. Everyone seemed thoroughly engrossed in the action on stage, enjoying an evening of storytelling with a childlike style, grown-up themes, stunning visuals, and a starfish with a memory longer than an elephants' and her own personal Bag of Whimsy.

I want my own Bag of Whimsy.

Mercury Players Theatre’s production of “Celeste and Starla Save Todd and Win Back the Day” runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00PM, June 12th through June 28th, at the MercLab (930 N. Fair Oaks Ave.).

For more information and tickets, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/17398 or call 608-661-9696 ex. 5.

Photos by Colm McCarthy