‘Tuck Everlasting’ Theater Review: A Family Friendly Fable

In the mighty wake of Matilda, another family friendly crowd pleaser has emerged, Tuck Everlasting, which opened at Broadway’s Broadhurst Theater last month. The story revolves around 11-year-old Winnie (Sarah Charles Lewis) who suffers from acute boredom after months of mourning her late father locked up in a Victorian house. Her dream is to attend the local fair in her late 19th Century New Hampshire town, but her mother squashes the idea. Winnie sneaks out and encounters Jesse Tuck (Andrew Keenan-Bolger), a handsome 17-year-old boy, or so it would seem. Turns out that Jesse has a doozy of a secret – he and the rest of the Tuck family have been hiding out in the woods for a century after drinking from a stream that imparts immortality to all who sip from it.  When Jesse’s brother discovers that Winnie knows the family secret, he abducts her to their hidden cabin. Winnie and Jesse escape that night to visit the fair and, in an epic bit of bad luck, encounter a carnival barker, known only as The Man In the Yellow Suit (Terrence Mann), who soon identifies Jesse as one of the immortal family that was rumored to inhabit the wood. With The Man In the Yellow Suit in hot pursuit, the Tucks know it’s just a matter of time before they are found out. Jesse gives Winnie a flask of the spring water to drink when she’s 17. The question hanging over the action is will she drink it and join Jesse for ever after.

Get ‘Tuck’ Tickets Here!

Tuck, based on 1975 children’s book by Natalie Babbitt, was made into a poorly received 2002 Disney film. Fortunately, this period production, which started off in Atlanta, fares much better in the stage translation. The dance scenes, in particular, are beautifully wrought. While some might find the humor hokey, the big themes of love and immortality provide a framework of ideas upon which this winning production builds smartly. Tuck Everlasting is now playing at the Broadhurst Theater.