Scientology is made simple by child cast

The most hilariously funny, perfectly realized and, in many ways, most profound hour of theater now on a Chicago stage can be found at A Red Orchid Theatre in the Old Town neighborhood. That's where a cast of 10 sensational young actors, ranging in age from 10 to 14, are performing "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant," the ingenious musical satire that debuted Off-Broadway several years ago and became one of the 2003-04 season's quirkiest hits. History should repeat itself here.

Based on a concept by Alex Timbers, with a magically faux-naive but sharply pointed, endlessly clever book and score by Kyle Jarrow, the show unspools in much the same way as a traditional Christmas pageant recounts the life of Jesus. Of course in this case the self-made "spiritual leader" is L. Ron Hubbard, the hugely controversial figure who began his career as a science fiction writer, went on to create a self-help technique he dubbed Dianetics and subsequently established the Church of Scientology. This immensely lucrative pseudoreligion (a term, I'm sure, that some might find objectionable), which has been taken to court by the IRS and faced a ban by the German government until recently, just happens to include among its followers such celebrities as John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Kirstie Alley.

The uncanny genius of this pageant is evident from the moment tiny, sparkling, wholly charismatic Najwa Brown walks onstage as Angelic Girl, dressed in a white satin choral robe and wings. It is Brown (whose control of the audience is uncanny) who introduces us to Hubbard (played by the remarkably sophisticated Chaz Allen), a young, blond fellow whose searching spirit, blithe self-confidence and hunger for success take him from his birth on a Nebraska farm (yes, the manger imagery is intentional) to a global odyssey (with side-splittingly funny sequences in Hawaii, New York and China) to his epiphany during World War II (where he sustains Donald, a wounded comrade, deftly played by the elegant Jackson Challinor).

Along the way there are a slew of other inspired sequences, not one of them belabored. And together they conjure the best account of Hubbard's "theories" I've heard to date, as well as providing a withering commentary on how and why his church's philosophy has attracted so many acolytes as well as impassioned naysayers.

Co-directors Lance Baker and Steve Wilson have not only done a brilliant job of casting, they've also shrewdly shaped their ensemble of prodigies by using the kids' innate personalities to maximum effect. Ann Filmer's inspired choreography is executed with panache, and Brandon Magid has done wonders as musical director.

Adam Rebora will have you chuckling as Travolta and Cruise. And Jaiden Fallo, Paola Lehman, Melanie Neilan, Kara Ryan, Elenna Sindler and Aria Szalai-Raymond all play multiple roles with the assurance of utmost pros. In a season that has featured an unusual number of superb stage performances by children, this ensemble is something special.

Take the show's title at its "unauthorized" word. As the program states: "This production is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the Church of Scientology.


Source: suburbanchicagonews.com