‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ will delight the whole family

Amanda Ranowsky as Tock and Susan Kaplan as the Spelling Bee in “The Phantom Tollbooth.” [Chip Gertzog/Providence Players]

By David Siegel

“For our 20th anniversary season, we wanted to do something non-traditional in the holiday time slot. We have always liked the idea of presenting a fantasy rather than a traditional holiday show,” says Chip Gertzog, director of Providence Players’ production of “The Phantom Tollbooth.”

The play, adapted by Susan Nanus from the classic young adult novel by Norton Juster with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, opens tonight at the James Lee Community Center Theater and runs through Dec. 16.

“The Phantom Tollbooth” centers on Milo who is dealing with the tedium of school and learning, along with pressures to act out from the Demons of Ignorance.

Milo goes on a fantastic journey with his trusty timekeeping companion, a dog named Tock through the Land of Wisdom. Milo and Tock meet many memorable characters on their journey, and Milo learns many valuable lessons to take through life.

“Audiences, young and old, will be captivated by both the fantasy aspect of the play and by the sophistication and humor,” Gertzog says.

Talia Cutler, a veteran actor at age 12, plays the central character. “Milo is very bored and never knows what to do,” Cutler says. “What Milo does have is curiosity. So Milo goes on a marvelous adventure in exploring and discovering strange lands far and wide.”

Long-time Providence Players member Derek Bradley portrays The Humbug – a character who is undependable, caring only for himself. But Bradley plans on making the character “fun and part of the pure entertainment” of the show.

Susan Kaplan, another long-time member of the Providence Players, portrays two characters – the kindly Spelling Bee who treasures education as well as the Everpresent Wordsnatcher, who points out the importance of word choices. For Kaplan, the play “offers good lessons for today’s world: the importance of education and kindness and the need to work together and for compromise, as well as the need for tolerance and acceptance.”

Amanda Ranowsky, who appears as Tock the Watchdog, says, “Tock is a hybrid of a clock and a dog, literally, a ‘watchdog.’ Tock is a friend, protector, and sidekick for Milo.”

The show has something for everyone to enjoy, Rasnowsky says. “Adults will appreciate the wittiness and the many little ‘play-on-words’ that pop up through our characters and dialogue. Kids will love the fantasy and adventure of it all.”

“The cleverness of “The Phantom Tollbooth” and the humor and sophistication of the language is marvelous. We want young and old alike to enjoy themselves and have fun,” says Gertzog.

Where and when: Providence Players of Fairfax presents “The Phantom Tollbooth” at James Lee Community Center Theatre, 2855 Annandale Road, Falls Church. Performances: Dec. 8 to Dec. 16; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 (general admission). Call 703-425-6782 or visit www.providencepla.

“The Phantom Tollbooth” is co-produced with the Young Hearts Foundation, a group of teens who raise funds to battle blood cancers and other diseases. Half of all net proceeds from this production will be donated by the Young Hearts to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.


This piece is based on a review by David Siegel that appeared in the Connection.