The Hobbit Review

This past Friday, our Green Jay actors fluttered here, there and back again in a new adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Before the review, a Playbill of gratitude is in order:

Thanks to Mrs. Joseph, who labored long during and after school to ensure all creatures of Middle Earth were properly attired. There was not a dwarf without his furs, nor a wizard his robe, nor a goblin his, well—it isn’t clear what goblins wear—they looked menacing though.

Thanks to Mike Whitebread (head) and Rafael Bello for providing music for the show, the lower school choir for singing along, and the faculty choir for delivering those deep, resounding dwarf notes that made folks wish they lived under the mountain, if only for a moment.

Thanks to Mr. D’Andrea and Charles Collins; each respectively led the middle school woodworking and art students in building and painting the set pieces. We are grateful for Mike McManus and the stage crew for literally moving mountains to and from the stage. I’m told none of the gold was misplaced as they ushered it on and off stage in the dark. Phew!

And special thanks to David O’Bar for penning the script, spending innumerable hours teaching the boys, and directing this captivating adaptation of a great story. We owe Alex Hoff one as well; he coordinated the many pieces of the production with a keen eye, a steady hand, and much patience.

Lastly, thanks to all who built the barn, the magnificent structure that housed some legends of Middle Earth one fine evening in spring.

***

The play begins with a cozy, if not a little complacent, Bilbo Baggins (H. Banks) determined to cull out some peace and quiet in his hobbit hole. But alas! Cozy living is not the stuff of adventure.

With a few knocks on his circular door, Bilbo’s once serene house is bombarded with the big bellied Bombur (G. Aycock) and the comparatively spare Bofur (J.P. Smoter). These unexpected guests have come to recruit Bilbo at the bidding of Gandalf (J. Robleto). This mysterious and whimsical wizard hopes to make a bona fide burglar out of Bilbo. In a strange fit of desire, the hobbit signs on to be at the service of Thorin and Company, having no idea what will come of his new occupation.

Working for this new employer will be a far cry from the rolling hills and sweet tea-cakes of home, but the dwarves will prove to be hearty companions—so long as there’s plenty to eat.

We soon learn that Thorin Oakenshield (D. Henderson), the rightful king under the mountain, has planned a daring adventure to take back the home and wealth of the dwarves. These precious possessions have been seized at the hands of the winged worm, Smaug, who lurks in the treasure vaults of Lonely Mountain. Thorin has handpicked a band of strapping dwarves including Dwalin (P. Ochoa) the lookout with no fear of heights, the spry yet prudent Balin (P. Cosgray), and the nearly identical brothers Fili and Kili (B. & W. Efting).

But even a dwarven king’s best laid plan is not hatched without difficulty. No, there are those who would keep us from our rightful home at all costs, dark hordes: goblins. Journeying from the green hills of hobbits to the grey clad mountain of dwarves, Thorin and company are waylaid at every turn.

First, they are shackled by three gluttonous trolls, Bert (C. Holmes), Tom (J. Worley), and William (V. Skurner). These hulking uncouths had planned to boil, or was it roast? a chicken for dinner, but they deign to dine on dwarves instead. Luckily, Gandalf heralds the dawn early and the trolls become a monument to meals gone awry.

The Trolls are fearsome, true, but they are far too argumentative to present our resolute dwarves with a lasting challenge. No, the real foe is a horde of ancient adversaries bent on the destruction of all things dwarfish. Enter the goblin king (C. Benedetti.)

Power. Unbridled power. That’s what the goblin king and his lurid host are after. “Power! Power!” This is the reverberating chorus that lesser goblin goons clamor in grim unison. Goblins one, two and three (Richard Bocock, T. Nichols, T. Block) bob and rock to the nauseating din of goblin song, if it can even be called song, eager to wet their blades with dwarven blood. Numerous chances to do just that arise again and again, with the dwarves and goblins swashbuckling in all manner of settings: caves, plains and wooded glens.

Yet dwarf, goblin and dragon can be eerily similar when the former gives way to greed. The dwarves, particularly Thorin, having suffered much, believe that they are entitled to all the treasure. This strong sense of entitlement poisons Thorin’s judgement at times, but in the end, he overcomes the maw of gnawing greed and justly gives what is owed to allies.

Groping through the dank and shadowy passages of the Misty Mountains, Bilbo is separated from the party. He then stumbles into the cavernous haunt of Gollum (J. Abbott). Gollum’s slimy demeanor oozes ulterior motives. The acting of Abbott, coupled with the handy lightwork of Adam Zeger and M. Stillwell, make for an excellent rendition of Riddles in the Dark.

Exiting the mountain passages mostly unscathed, Thorin and company, now reunited with Bilbo, find themselves nestled in a wooded glen. Here they meet a strange personage who proves to be a powerful ally: Beorn (B. Creech). Beorn has the ability to change his form from ‘man’ to bear at a moment’s notice. He is hospitable and wise to boot, welcoming the dwarves to his home, deciphering runes, and providing them with succor.

Following their meeting with Beorn, the dwarves come upon the men of Laketown (D. Creech, J. Cronin, E. Kruppa). Laketown is a singed husk of its former glory; nestled beneath the shadow of Lonely Mountain; it too was desolated by Smaug’s fire. Yet an honest archer and townsman by the name of Bard (O. Aycock) is determined to revitalize his home, be it with bow, brawn or brotherhood.

As is often the case with dwarves, they prematurely grumble over how treasure will be parceled out once attained. But this is folly, for the winged worm still lives, luxuriating his scaled belly upon mounds of stolen gold.

It is none other than the burglar that first meets Smaug (N. Chen) in his squatter’s lair. Plodding through the shadow and heaps of stolen gold, Bilbo flatters Smaug into revealing a chink in his armor “just below the left breast, where his dark heart lies.” Bard himself had heard tell of such a weakness in the Dragon’s brutal breastplate; Bilbo’s reconnoitering proves it so. Yet unfortunately for Laketown, Bilbo’s gab with Smaug awakens a desire in the beast for more destruction. Belly full of fire, Smaug shakes off his dusty wings and flies toward Laketown.

With a strobing and surreal batch of fiery lightwork coupled with the sound and fury of ruin (J. Applebee C. King), Laketown finds itself in its darkest hour. Evacuating the town, the men find Bard, who clutches a single arrow in his bow: waiting, waiting, for the perfect shot. He waits not in vain. Bard pierces the left-breast of the winged-worm. Smaug is no more.

Having slain Smaug, Bard beseeches the now well-endowed dwarves for recompense, for the homes of the Laketownsmen have been scorched to soot.  Speaking to Thorin, Bard pleads, “we are not robbers. We ask for some honest share.”

Thorin, nagged by greed, argues with Bard, refusing to give up a treasure he believes is the dwarves’ by right. Bilbo levels the negotiations by pickpocketing the Arkenstone from Thorin and giving it to Bard as “collateral.” But the negotiations come to a halt when Gandalf arrives in a huff, announcing that a goblin horde is en route to the very spot on which they quibble.

In a climactic flurry, men and dwarves put aside their differences and form ranks. But the goblins are not fazed by these outward signs of unity. The greenish antagonists blast into the battle lines of Thorin and Bard and the fury of battle ensues.

Goblins (M. Booth, T. Banks, etc.) big and small sneer and strike as the dwarves smart under the heavy blows of goblin blades. Kili and Fili, engage in a brutal bout of swordplay with the goblin king himself. Swords akimbo, the goblin king beckons Thorin to watch as he brutally slays the brothers in arms, the dwarven king’s own nephews.

Indignant, Thorin engages the goblin king in mortal combat after staving off a goblin captain stricken with bloodlust (O. Epperson). It is a phenomenal display of stage combat. But in the whirlwind of orc and elven blades, both kings are consumed. Thorin, decapitates the goblin king, but he himself has reached the end. He has gripped his wealth once more, his precious stone—but “at a great cost.”

Bidding adieu to his comrades, Thorin reconciles himself with Bard and his allies. Tragically, the clarity of death was necessary for Thorin to see aright. Yet he makes peace with all in the final moment, assuring Bard that “my kinsmen...my remaining kinsmen will be more generous than I was, and Laketown will be rebuilt.”

In the falling action, we see dwarves and men in the throes of grief, humming a funeral dirge for their fallen comrades. Adventure comes at a cost.

And yet, Bilbo returns to his hobbit hole better for having gone. He has time to ponder the import of his adventures and to inspire the young with its peril, glory, and lessons. The hobbit has lived; the hobbit has learned.

The play ended thus, with audience applauding ‘neath the rafters of a barn gilded by graceful story.