Article:10062; Posted: August 2, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.

Like Jack of beanstalk fame, Wiley lives out in the country with his mother and must overcome a supernatural nemesis in the Southern folk tale “Wiley and the Hairy Man.” The story, dramatized by noted children’s playwright Suzan Zeder, receives a delightful staging by Southgate’s Open Book Theatre.

Krista Schafer Ewbank’s Open Book production is also an open air production in a space called the amphitheater at Market Center Park. Because it’s new, there was freshly planted sod right in front of the stage area on opening day, which made it off-limits to blankets and folding chairs and the people who would sit on them. There is ample room for seating in the banked levels that makes this an amphitheater, but how much nicer things will be when the audience can sit closer to the actors.

The actors overcome the gap very well, without amplification, occasionally bringing the action closer to the amphitheater seats. And their southern accents are believable, too.

Like “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Wiley and the Hairy Man” is part trickster tale, part coming-of-age story. Wiley has to face down fears and use his wits before he can prevail. In order to become Wiley, he has to become…wily.

Wiley doesn’t do it all by himself. His mother, called Mammy, has some magical powers and his dog, called Dog, is a faithful ally. But the Hairy Man is fierce and shrewd and possesses his own magic.

Ewbank and her cast do a lot to create a sense of place and atmosphere. The play is set in the Tombigbee Swamp, which covers parts of Mississippi and Alabama. Early on, actors move among the audience making pretty convincing sounds of birds and insects. And even though it’s broad daylight (very broad. Bring sunscreen) you can almost feel the darkness as Wiley first ventures into the swamp.

That’s when things get, well, hairy.

Stebert Davenport plays Wiley as the kind of boy other kids will easily identify with. He’s afraid, and he’s tempted to take the easy way out and stay in bed. He worries about remembering his mother’s advice, and he puts on a brave front, sticking his face out and standing strong.

As Mammy, Dinah R. Tutein, combines hollering and hugging to make a realistic mother who wants to both protect her son and encourage him to stand on his own.

If a critical mass of kids show up for subsequent performances Mindy Padlo, as Dog, will get major laughs. Sure, children love dogs, but Padlo is a very good dog, indeed: her scratch is just right and after traipsing through the swamp she shakes the mud of her paw like a real canine.

Falynn Victoria Burton, Ryan Ernst, Lenora Whitecotton and Mandy Logsdon- who take turns playing the Hairy Man, as well as trees, bushes, the wind and anything else that isn’t Wiley, Mammy, or Dog– are excellent, too.

Southgate’s Market Center Park may be unfamiliar to many playgoers. It was to me/ But if you have, or know, any kids between the ages of about 5 and 10, Open Book Theatre makes it well worth finding.

1 hour.

SHOW DETAILS:
Wiley and the Hairy Man
Open Book Theatre
Market Center Park, corner of Eureka and Trenton, Southgate
August 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 2:00 p.m.
$5.00 for children/$10.00 for adults
734 288-7753
OpenBookTC.com