'Winnie the Pooh' Redux

“And by and by Christopher Robin came to an end of things, and he was silent, and he sat there, looking out over the world, just wishing it wouldn't stop.”
From The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

Once upon a time, way back in my growing up years, summers were all about one thing–theater.

I was one of the original members of West Deptford Little Theatre, which celebrates its 38th season this year. (Ok, I’m old. You can stop doing the math.) I was a fill-in actress in their very first production–Cinderella. My best friend had the lead role, and my brother was Ashes the Cat, which was the “comic relief” part in this adaptation of the play. I was asked to fill in as the Princess in Gold, a vain, snobbish royal who was the King and Queen’s choice to marry the Prince. I’m not sure what happened to the girl originally cast in the role, but I was thrilled to step in at the last minute and ham it up, primping in my hand-held mirror through the entire ballroom scene.

It was a part so unlike my own insecure self, but of course this was acting, and acting changed things. I could forget who I was and be someone totally different within the safe confines of the playwright’s words, in the world that only exists behind the curtain and beyond the imagination. It was the closest thing to magic that I knew.

Of course, the years pass, like it or not, and my onstage days were eventually left behind. (I think the need for a summer job did them in.) But I have always been a proponent of the arts, and particularly theater, and I was thrilled whenever one of my brood told me she was going to try out for a play.

I had “aged out” of Little Theatre by the time they did Winnie the Pooh for the first time. I had moved onto Teen Theatre by that time, but I helped out with the crew while my younger friends presented the world of Winnie and friends on the high school stage that summer. In fact, my first cousin Joe Murray’s claim to fame is that he was WDLT’s very first Christopher Robin. (“And still the best!” he’ll tell anyone within earshot when the subject comes up.)

Well, maybe. But Ryan Dreger and Jeffrey Kline are planning to give him a run for his bragging rights. The boys, both second-graders, are sharing the role of Christopher Robin in WDLT’s latest production of the A.A. Milne/Disney classic.

The production, which will run April 7 through 10, is being directed by Little Theatre founder and president Susan Schramm and presented in conjunction with Holy Angels Parish at their hall. Outside the perimeters of “summer theater,” this spring production has attracted many newcomers to the group–so many so that many parts have been double-cast, with two children sharing the role.

“It’s my first play, and it’s fun,” says Kyle Belbin, 8, a Red Bank student who, as “The Voice,” will lead Christopher Robin through his adventure. “It’s fun to be someone else.”

Belbin says his little sister, Sophia, 5, motivated him to audition.

“My grandmom told me about the show, and mommy said I could do it,” says Sophia, an Oakview kindergarten student who will appear as “Animal #5.” “I was nervous to try out. But now I’m just having fun.”

“I’ve been in many concerts before, but never in a play,” says Jasmine Tumous, 9, who will appear as “Rabbit #8” in her first theatrical performance. “It’s really fun. I get to dance and sing and say my lines. Being onstage is my time to shine.”

Of course, there is potential for not-so-shiny-ness, Jasmine acknowledges. “If you don’t memorize your lines, you won’t know what to say and you’ll just stand there,” she points out. “I’d be humiliated.” The Greenfields fourth-grader has her lines – and most of the script – committed to memory, just in case.

Although there are many newbies in the cast, veterans (yes, some even old enough for Teen Theatre) have many of the lead roles. WDHS junior Stephanie Fanelli, 17, says Winnie the Pooh is her 28th show, coming full circle from her debut in Sue’s Shoes while a kindergartner at St. Matt’s, the former name of Holy Angels.

“My mom used to make me do T-ball and soccer, but I’m just not good,” says Fanelli. She hit her stride in theater, and will be playing the part of the Pooh himself.

And unlike the stereotypical teenager, Fanelli has no problem with the little kids who ask her for hugs or help with lines. “I plan to be a kindergarten teacher, so I really enjoy working with the kids,” she says.

Middle school student Christian Hoedt, 11, says he has his eye on the future too. “I want to be an actor,” he says, adding his dream role is Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.

For now, though, Hoedt will be playing Eeyore–a role polar opposite from his own personality. “I’m more of a Tigger,” he confides.

Hoedt’s own theatre career started three years ago in a WDLT production of Cinderella. He was the king.

But whatever the part, Hoedt just enjoys being part of theater, “Even when I only have one line, I still enjoy doing the show,” he says. “I’m proud to be part of the accomplishment.”

It was a feeling I recognized, like an old friend from my childhood. It’s been a long time since I stepped out of myself and put on a different character. But I still remember the magic, and the memory makes me smile.