Great Expectations

TODD WALLINGER
THE GAZETTE

Charles Dickens wrote some of the most beloved novels in the English language. But except for “A Christmas Carol” (sometimes even then), his works have struggled to find effective adaptations.

“Great Expectations” is a case in point. First serialized in 1860, the story follows an orphan named Pip who’s raised by his abusive older sister and her blacksmith husband. Invited to the home of the batty Miss Havisham, he meets and falls in love with a disdainful, upper-class girl named Estella and decides to better himself to win her love.

David Simpich, who adapted the story for his current production, is as skilled a writer as he is a performer. But I think this sprawling 700-page novel was just too much for him. In distilling it into a 90 minute marionette play, he lost much of the charm as well as the sharply drawn characterizations that are Dickens’s greatest strength as an author.

What’s left is a tediously talky story in which nearly every action the characters take seems arbitrary and capricious. It doesn’t help that Dickens made Pip one of literature’s most maddeningly passive protagonists. And, of course, there’s no reason we should root for Pip to get such an unlikable girl.

All of this would be a big show spoiler for me, except that Simpich is such a phenomenal performer. The night I saw him, he gave another one of his flawless performances, juggling marionettes, voices and lights as though it were a walk in Bancroft Park.

Simpich recommends this production for children as young as school age, but I believe it skews older. Kids younger than 12 are likely to find it slow and difficult to understand. Adults, however, may find themselves enjoying it for the artistry behind the strings. Just don’t have any great expectations for the story itself.

“Great expectations” by the simpich
showcase theatre

When: 7 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays, through Nov. 8

Where: 2413 W. Colorado Ave.

Tickets: $8-$12; 465-2492.