Curiosity of the Theatrical Kind

Article Written By: Melissa Martens

Curiosity of the Theatrical Kind

It was a cool April night in Chicago, I walk down Michigan Avenue among the brightly colored tulips and shoppers winding down their evenings and long days work. I round the corner to water tower place, and observe the Looking Glass Theater sign. I rummage through my purse and find a ticket. I am about to see a play, “The Old Curiosity Shop”.
Fig Media, a member of the Looking Glass Junior Board, gets to see each of the plays as they come through the theater, and this time it is my turn...I am excited.
I make my way to my seat and immediately am intrigued by the charming set. My eyes move across the large arched wooden walkway. It looks like a bridge with a stylish hobbit hole underneath with a dickens Dickens flair. In the left and right wings hang trinkets and treasures, like an antique shop. My eyes fall across faded bottles, old chairs, shiny objects and treasures. It reminds me of a character from a childhood movie I love, Labyrinth. The set has the same moveable creative quality.
I sit in my chair with childlike anticipation. It has been years since I have been to the theater, and in moments I am reminded how much I missed it.

As the lights darken, the play begins. Dark silhouetted characters walk the set behind a brightly colored screen. The story has begun.
As the story progresses I am hit hard with its message, and realize that I am about to participate in a moving story that will touch me deeply.

The old curiosity Shop deals with the polarity of youth and age, and puts a hopeful yet realistic view on character, life and death. The story of a young girl, Nell, who takes care of a grandfather. His jaded but caring purpose is to make a future for his granddaughter.This drives him into gambling night after night. The innocent granddaughter, aged well beyond her years, is caught in the middle of his struggle, the world, and being a child.
Set in the 1800’s The Old Curiosity Shop is an adaptation of the story written by Charles Dickens, and not having read Dickens since high school, I quickly remember the tragic overtones to his stories.

The acting envelops me, and my emotions flow freely as I sit in my chair. Having lost my grandfather recently to cancer, my tears and my joy flow as the story does. When the story begins to reach a climax, I begin to make a realization and peace with myself about death in a way I had never thought of before.
The play then becomes just as much about celebrating death as it does life. Death being a natural and spiritual part of living, and grief and pain over losing a loved one a beautiful part of life and the legacy that one life can leave behind.

“The Old Curiosity Shop,” is inspiring, charming, and deeply moving to any one ever having lost someone they loved in a way that celebrates their lives.

I walk out of the theater into the cool spring Chicago air, holding myself gently I wipe the soft tears from my eyes as I step into the florescent glow that is the city. I breathe deeply and let the air pass softly through my lungs. In that moment I celebrate and am grateful for the legacy that was my grandfathers life, and make a silent pact to myself to honor his life by living my completely and to its fullest capacity, carrying his story and essence in my heart.

For more information on The Old Curiosity Shop, visit: http://www.lookingglasstheatre.org

See it and feel inspired.