(Above: Adventure-seeking Jim Hawkins, played by Jack Perini, leads the cast in the Rose Children’s Theatre’s production of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island”; photos by Ben J Lonergan Photography)

By Randi Bjornstad

More than 125 years after it was written, “Treasure Island” still captures imaginations with its wild tale of searching for buried treasure, running off to sea, fighting evil pirates, actually finding the treasure and finally, returning home to live happily ever after.

Isaac Lonergan is Long John Silver in Rose Children’s Theatre’s “Treasure Island”

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote his adventure novel in the early 1880s, with the express purpose of entertaining youngsters yearning for excitement. Besides becoming a classic in book form, the story has been made into movies several times, as well as adapted as plays, including one that appeared on Broadway for more than 200 performances in 1915.

This time, though, it’s the Rose Children’s Theatre’s turn to take “Treasure Island” to the stage, which they will do for four performances on Feb. 16-18. Their story is a bit different from the usual. In their version, young Jim Hawkins has a very bad day, dreams of becoming a pirate, meets up with Billy Bones and Long John Silver and has his own pirate-and-treasure adventure.

Also unlike Stevenson’s story, the Rose Children’s Theatre play also incorporates an expanded number of colorful characters such as mermaids, dancing crabs and a bevy of very talkative parrots.

The cast includes 51 actors in third through tenth grades, directed by Judy Wenger and Rebekah Hope. The script was adapted by Kathryn Schultz Miller of ArtReach Children’s Theatre Plays.

Featured actors are Jack Perini as Jim Hawkins, Isaac Lonergan as Long John Silver and Elias Santin as Ben Gunn, with Enzo Valdez playing Captain Smollett, Clara Christensen as Squire Trelawney, Henry Davis Piger as Dr. Livesay and Ellie Williams as the pirate known as Blind Pew and Hugh Brinkley as Billy Bones, another pirate.

Mermaids on Treasure Island? There are in the Rose Chldren’s Theatre production of the classic play; left to right are Vera Lichvarcik, Alana Strand, Sofia Kovash, and Bella Morgan

Additional pirates are played by Natalie Stern, Casey Beasley-Bennett, Maren Nixon, Raiden Kautzman, Flynn Miller, Sydney Sattler, Addison Sattler and Noah Wagner.

The cast also includes mermaids Bella Morgan, Vera Lichvarcik, Alana Strand, Peyton Anderson, Sofia Kovash; crabs Nate Rosenfeld, Kevin McCoy, Ethan Park, Tristan Riplinger and August Santin; parrots Gage Wagner, Siena Buchanan, Peter Christensen, Eli Turanski and Greenley Robinson.

Sarah Pearson plays the mother, and storytellers include Avery Puhn, Owen Colley, Ben Carson, Ruby McKrola-Dey, Vivien Tritch, Jani von Ammon, Gus Nelson and Caroline Robinson. Ruby McPherson and Anna Pierce are teachers, and the inhabitants of Skeleton Island are played by Natasha Dracobly, Kaitlyn Pintens, Piper Kyle, Kennedy Powell, Meridian Hula, Dora Boos, Ellie Park, June Robinson and Elena Morris.

 

Rose Children’s Theatre’s “Treasure Island”

When: 7 p.m. on Feb. 16 and 17; and 2 p.m. on Feb. 17 and 18

Where: Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St., Springfield

Tickets: $12 for adults, $9 for children and students, available online at rosechildrenstheatre.org/ or at the box office one hour before showtimes