Stage Review - Treasure Island (Valley Center Stage)
Stage Review - Treasure Island
Presented By: Valley Center Stage - North Bend, WA
Show Run: February 14 - March 02, 2025
Date Reviewed: Sunday, February 16, 2025 (Opening Weekend)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 10 minutes (including 15 minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Treasure Island, the 1883 adventure novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson, is one of those books that is familiar among many of us, if only because it’s usually required reading at some point, usually during middle school. At least for me, I’m grateful that my 8th grade teacher Miss Brock made that part of our reading, it’s still one of my favorite stories after all these way too many years, and it seems like I’ve watched every movie and television version of the story that I could, one of my favorites being Muppet Treasure Island. When I think of Treasure Island, of course I think about Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver and his trusty companion parrot, Billy Bones, and Squire Trelawney, but I also think of my first real exposure to pirates, buried treasure, and deceit. There are a lot of lessons the novel can teach people of all ages, though the book itself, originally marketed as a coming of age story, was written for younger readers. When I saw that Valley Center Stage was putting up Treasure Island, I wondered how this would translate to the stage, how could the action, which starts on land at the Admiral Benbow Inn, then onto the high seas on the Hispaniola, and then again onto the deserted island where the infamous Captain Flint’s treasure has been buried, would be presented, and whether the relationships and the deceit that I remember from the novel would be believable in a stage version. Many of these answers come down to the work that director Chris Clark, and co-director Mary Guthrie, has done in this production that runs on stage in North Bend through March 2.
The play itself takes a bit of a departure from the novel in that while the original was more young adult oriented, to use a modern genre classification, this version is more family friendly, geared toward an even younger audience. That isn’t to say older theatre goers can’t enjoy it, but there’s a lot of detail left out of the story, and the humor and the performances are clearly geared toward younger age groups. Valley Center Stage is all in on catering to those age groups, too, decorating their lobby area to make it feel like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, and even offering prizes to kids who come dressed as their favorite buccaneer. From a story perspective, though, Scarlett Jonas, who adapted Stevenson’s novel for this stage version, does hit all of the major points, Jim Hawkins meets old ship captain Billy Bones at the Admiral Benbow Inn, who gets confronted by Blind Pew about a treasure map that Bones supposedly has from his days as first mate to Captain Flint. Pew and his ruffians ransack the Inn, but as Bones had befriended Hawkins, he had already given the treasure map to Jim, so the pirates never find it. After showing the map to his Aunt Nell and Dr. Livesey, they all decide to charter a boat, the Hispaniola, and crew to take them to the island where the treasure is buried as depicted on the map. The crew of the ship, of course, turns out to be Long John Silver’s group of pirates, who are also after Flint’s treasure. What follows is a race for the treasure, but instead of the intrigue and the backstabbing, it’s a fun romp with a group of bumbling pirates and something that turns into a redemption story at its end.
As far as the answer goes around how the story would be presented, Scarlett Jonas’ set design makes all of it work, and seamlessly. The Admiral Benbow Inn, with its weathered wood, sails tied up but descended from the ceiling, and nautical accoutrements feels like its been built from the remnants of a shipwreck. I like the Benbow set, and outside of this play, it would make for an excellent design for a themed restaurant. It’s also functional from a flow perspective, because very quickly the Benbow set transitions into the Hispaniola. The foundation of both is clearly the same, but each is different enough to be able to discern the locales, and on that matter of pace, especially in a play where kids are in the audience, keeping things moving is key. The change can all be done with the curtain down and a scene transpiring in front of it. Finally, the transition to the island happens at intermission, so there’s a little more to it than the first, but it’s a nice set, believable in its depiction of the island, even in the small space that is Valley Center Stage. In addition to the scenic design, there’s a lot of good creative work in Treasure Island. Alex Otto has done a nice job with sound, there always seems to be a certain level of ambience, whether the sound is the din of seagulls and the sea breeze, or the creaking of the ship, and the volume is perfect as a background. Lighting is also good throughout, though Sam Saulnier’s work at the end is the highlight and really captures the mood of the redemption moment that marks the climax of the piece. And finally, there is Lucy Adams’ costumes, which for a pirate show are very nice, layered, well designed, and nicely tailored for the amount of movement in the play. In a lighthearted play like this one is, there could be a tendency not to take the costuming, or any of the creative components for that matter, seriously, or make them corny for entertainment value, but that’s not the case here. I’ve said this when reviewing other shows made for younger audiences, that kids know when they’re being patronized, so it’s important that those presenting a show to them take it seriously, and Chris has this entire group doing just that.
That seriousness goes for the actors as well. They’re funny and entertaining, and their performances, jokes, and mannerisms are all fun, but they in no way cross that line into being corny to the point of making fun of the material. I like Jillian Faulk as Jim Hawkins, her performance captures this coming of age story very well, from the wide-eyed wonder of Jim at the Admiral Benbow and his discussions with Billy Bones, all the way through the friendship, lies, and deceit from Long John Silver. Jillian is one of the few actors who plays one character, a list that includes Skye Stafford as the pirate Mad Dog, her character doing his best to orchestrate a coup against Silver and his crew, and Jag, who plays the infamous ship’s cook Long John Silver, though he’s also credited with playing Pickles, Silver’s trusty parrot. Skye as Mad Dog is strong and determined, and takes advantage of the crew’s lack of education to setup the rebellion. Her performance is one of quality and she, along with the rest of the ensemble, does a nice job with the movement that Chris has this cast doing throughout. Meanwhile, Jag’s work as Silver is top notch, his pirate accent wonderful and his delivery is everything I’d want out of this character, he knows how to depict stabbing someone in the back with a smile on his face, and do it in a way that doesn’t scare a room full of children and their parents. There’s a knack to that, and Jag is on top of it, plus is interaction with Pickles, as I said played by, well, Jag, is quite entertaining as well. Speaking of accents, and adding a little versatility into the mix, Jeremy Radick is both Billy Bones and Hispaniola captain Smollett. They’re two different roles, the former a drunk pirate with a secret, but waiting for the inevitable, and the latter a straight-shooting captain, both roles very well performed, his Bones especially fun. Speaking of fun, Jim Hawkins’ Aunt Nell, played hilariously by Terry Boyd comes directly to mind. Part of the pair, along with Jacob Shroades’ Dr. Livesey, who help Jim get his boat to search for Flint’s buried treasure. Just the sight of Terry as Nell is laugh worthy, but his performance makes it even more fun, and he and Jacob work very well together, even as their secondary roles as pirates in Silver’s crew.
The entire cast is strong. Melissa Carter is Paranoid Polly, a pirate who doesn’t trust water and doesn’t like fish, Lucy Adams is Mary Flint, Matt Clarkson is Crazy Legs Jack, and Ed Benson is Salty O’Brien. Helene Minassian is Jo Swift, who wants to be a pirate, but even after Jo passes Silver’s test, he still doesn’t trust her, and Mary Guthrie, who is Blind Pew early in the show, and later Kate Gunn, a marooned pirate from Flint’s crew, left on the island to die with only her friend Coco, a talking coconut, to keep her company. As Kate Gunn, Mary’s performance is so good, and funny, her relationship with Coco shows the effect of living on your own for years on a deserted island, and the chemistry between Coco and Pickle is excellent. All tolled, this is a cast that understands both the story they’re telling and the audience they’re telling it to. Well done on all counts.
The Valley Center Stage production of Treasure Island, adapted by Scarlett Jonas, is a new version of the familiar story, one that sheds a lot of the detail in the original young adult oriented novel, replacing it with humor and fun geared toward younger audiences in a play that is something the whole family can enjoy. Presented by a cast of scallawags and storytellers that understand Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel as well as the audience to which they are performing, and a creative team that recognizes the space they’re in and makes it feel bigger than it is, while keeping it intimate at the same time, Treasure Island is a play that has a little something for everyone.
Treasure Island runs on stage at Valley Center Stage in North Bend through March 2. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://valleycenterstage.org/.
Photo credit: Scarlett Jonas
