FringeNYC 2013: Sarazad and the Monster-King

Review by Rew David Greer · August 10, 2013

When you think of the New York International Fringe Festival you think of exciting and daring theatrical works.  Children’s theatre does not immediately come to mind.  Still, New York’s premiere summer theatre festival would not be complete without a few options for the whole family.  With this year’s slim pickings of only three such shows you can count on The TRUF Theatre Company’s production of Sarazad and the Monster-King as an interactive family pleaser, even if it’s rough around the edges.

This musical comedy is loosely based on Arabian Nights.  Sarazad is your typical protagonist, a sweet and kind hearted girl albeit with too much imagination for her own good.  Bullies at school pick on her, her mother doesn’t listen, and her only friend is a stuffed animal monkey named Aminal.  After Sarazad is teased for being “weird” in the playground, she runs home and skips the rest of the day at school.  Punished by her mother, she’s sent to bed and with Aminal journeys to a world that could be real or just another part of her overactive imagination.  There, she meets the Monster-King, a silly goblin who has been bored ever since he ate his court jester and now plans to eat Sarazad.  In order to stall his plans to eat her, Sarazad invents engaging tales cleverly inserting the Monster-King into each story as the main character.   These outrageous tales include a pirate king’s adventures at sea with a talking fish, a film noir-ish mystery of his missing hat, and finally a robot employer who turns his employees into robots.

Upon arriving at the 14th Street Y, interactions with audience members begin as ushers hand out stuffed animals (fish) for children of all ages to throw on stage when prompted by the performers.  This is a wonderful start to the theatrical experience as the excitement grows for the children.

Entering the spacious theatre at the 14th Street Y presents the first problem for the show.  The space is a vast black box with a stage much too distant for the interactive and intimate style constructed by director Justin Lauro.  The cast fights against the vastness of the space and distance from the children which makes the performance an uphill battle throughout.  Several delayed or missed lighting cues cheapened the experience for savvy theatre goers, but most of the children forgive these mishaps once the puppets come out.

Sarazad and the Monster-King is conceptually clever, but unfortunately it doesn’t achieve its full potential.  It’s as if playwright EJC Calvert has written two plays.  One dealing with the hot topic of the moment, bullying – a topic that is obviously important when it teaches kids self-empowerment so they don’t have to feel as weird or worthless as  they’re treated - and another play that is just good old interactive fun and a new twist on an old story.

Having obligatory message scenes about bullying at the beginning and again at the end hurts the overall production.  Children restlessly waited through the first fifteen minutes for the promised puppets and monsters.  And I was particularly concerned about the lesson that Calvert seems to be teaching in these segments: if you have trouble with bullies at school you should trick them and get into trouble instead of going to an authority figure and asking for help.  This is a lesson that is not only negligible but harmful.  Children should be encouraged to trust and openly talk with their parents and teachers - not figure out how to outwit bullies and therefore perpetuate the conflict.

That being said, the middle piece of the play in which Sarazad weaves her tales for the Monster King is a lot of fun and when the actors break the forth wall, very engaging.  While an opportunity to tie the opening bully scenes with the tales told to the Monster King is missed, the sheer madness and creativity of Calvert’s characters make up for this gaffe.  One little boy had so much fun throwing his stuffed fish toy, that he ran up on stage, picked it up and threw it again.  There is singing, dancing, slapstick and humor and when these elements worked the kids could hardly remain in their seats, and they were so excited.

The true star of Sarazad and the Monster King is costume and puppet designer, Sabrina Kahn.  Kahn’s vibrant colors and wonderful puppets enliven the stage.  Among the cast standouts are Penny Middleton who plays an endearing Sarazad and TRUF co-founder Eick Cekovsky who absolutely shines as the Monster King.  Cekovsky’s brilliant comic timing and ability to really live in the extensive makeup and costume of the green Monster-King keeps adults engaged as much as the kids.

Children under five may not have the attention space required for the show, but it’s very good for its target audience of elementary school kids.  Ultimately it’s a light and satisfying hour and an amusing family friendly option at this year’s FringeNYC.