Today I had the pleasure of catching the last showing of Balloonacy at Maddy's Theatre, housed by the newly re-located and re-built Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine, now on Thompson's Point in Portland.
Before going much further, I must admit a critical bias: Emilia McGrath was the prop master for Balloonacy, but she is also in an official relationship with the reviewer. So if I mention how sweet, colorful, thoughtful, and imaginative the props in the show are, you will just have to trust that I am being as objective as I can.
To get the point out of the way: This was the most delightful piece of entertainment I've enjoyed in a long time. Balloonacy's ratio of joy-to-time is nearly one-to-one–I don't think a single minute passed where a smile wasn't on my face or I wasn't outright laughing.
A quick summary of the plot, from the program: "In this inventive wordless comedy, a clown celebrates his birthday alone." The clown is played by Erica Murphy in a performance of hilarious and inspired physical comedy. From the second she walks on, the clown has our hearts and our attention.
But as great as Murphy is in the one-person show, the real brilliance of Balloonacy, and of Maddy's Theater in general, is that the child audience is encouraged at the top of the performance to interact with the play as it is running. What results is a unique theater experience that, while not all adults may enjoy as much, I found hysterical.
I have little experience with children, but Balloonacy has taught me what they want: To be smarter than someone and to be able to tell them what to do. Much of the play is Murphy getting herself into various confused situations that encourage the average child to shout out helpful advice: The clown's spaghetti is too hot, a meatball gets on the floor, he needs a band aid, he looks for a balloon, etc. It's like three shows in one. There's Balloonacy proper, there's what the children yell at the clown, and there is Murphy's improvisation to account for their interaction.
The children's comments ranged from encouraging, to demanding, to completely unprecedented, to sympathetic, to helpful, to contemplative. Here are some of my favorites that I can remember, sans-context:
"I feel really bad for you right now."
"Build a spaceship." (x5)
"Maybe the balloon can be the friend you celebrate your birthday with."
"Your house will burn down." (x5)
I'll be scrambling for excuses to catch subsequent shows at Maddy's Theater. This is a good idea.
Pictures taken from the Children's Museum Website
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