Moana Jr

“Moana Jr” is a stage musical adaptation of the Disney animated feature, and it packs a lot into a relatively short running time.  It is also presents the creative team with some interesting challenges, the first of which is that the piece is set unambiguously in Oceania.  Aware of the danger of cultural misappropriation, the director embraced some characteristic aspects of the culture, such as the costumes.  There were plenty of grass skirts in evidence, and Moana’s costume referenced both the location and the story’s animated film roots.  He also pointed out in his programme note that Maui’s tattoos are a sacred aspect of Pacific Islander culture, and had therefore been omitted; in this way, the Company presented a respectful celebration of the islanders’ way of life.

A second challenge is that animated feature films have an unrivalled capacity to tell stories in spectacular ways.  The Wykham Theatre is a fine venue, but a lot of imagination is required to tell technically demanding stories such as this.  Fortunately, imagination is something that the company isn’t short of.  The simple backdrop flats, painted an impossible blue and dotted with brilliant white clouds, reflected the Oceanic setting and film origins of the story.  The narrow raised area at the back of the stage, the various levels towards the front of the stage and the decorative steps into the auditorium provided different acting areas and facilitated some striking tableaux.

A real strength of the production was in how the cast themselves helped to create the scenes.  Some of the ocean scenes were conjured up with long bolts of fabric – a familiar technique but given unusual impact through the effectiveness of the movement.  At other times the sea was suggested through fans with shorter lengths of fabric attached, or through the arched bodies of the company surrounding Moana’s canoe.  This was physical storytelling of rare quality.

Watching “Moana Jr” it was easy to forget that the company were all 7-19 years old.  Almost fifty in number, they were everywhere you looked; sub-choruses on the downstage platforms, dancers on the stage, individuals making their way into the auditorium.  They knew the musical numbers thoroughly, no mean feat when you consider that the surprisingly complex songs were co-authored by Lin-Manuel Miranda and partly written in several Oceanic languages.  The movement and dancing was similarly admirable; a dance team took on the most demanding choreography, but the whole company was left with plenty to do with some inclusive yet still challenging routines.

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