For its summer production, the La Grange Area Teen Theater Ensemble presents “Tuck Everlasting,” a stage version of Natalie Babbitt’s 1975 best-selling children’s book of the same name.
“What if you could live forever?” asked LATTE founder and artistic director Felicia Pfluger, who read the book as a youngster. “That’s the question I got to ask myself as a 10-year-old.”
Set in 1880, the narrative centers around Winnie Foster, a well-to-do 13-year-old girl who yearns for more in life but is stifled by the rules of her straight-laced family.
She runs away and discovers the humble Tuck family, who had accidentally discovered a spring that grants them eternal life.
She falls in love with Jesse Tuck, but winds up being kidnapped by Jesse’s brother Miles because the family is afraid Winnie will expose their secret. The Tucks tell her they will return her to her home only when they can trust her.
The story adds tension in the form of a nameless “man in a yellow suit” who spies on the Tucks and schemes to use Winnie to acquire the secret of the forest.
“The book was whimsical yet wholesome,” Pfluger said. “Somehow it gave me permission to have the pensive curiosity about life’s what-ifs.”
While LATTE’s production is based primarily on the book, “Tuck Everlasting” has also been produced as a stage play, a musical, and a 2002 movie starring Alexis Bledel of “Gilmore Girls” fame.
La Grange Park resident and LATTE veteran Parker Larson, a junior at Lyons Township High School, plays the lead character.
“Playing Winnie is different from anything I’ve had to play because she’s younger than me but is also very mature and wants to learn a lot,” Larson said. “This is my eighth show with LATTE, which does things differently from other places. We go much more in depth with the characters and their backstories, the play and what everything symbolizes … also the era we are in and what the social norms would have been.”
Larson spoke of the challenges of a work set in a different era.
“It’s challenging to bring this script to life because characters talk a little different,” she said, “but also because the characters are so in depth and have big backstories or arcs throughout the play.”
Noah Veldt plays Miles Tuck and said the challenge of playing someone in the 1880s might not have been as difficult as playing a 102-year-old character who looks 22.
“By playing someone who has the emotions of a 102-year-old man, I can share the experiences with the family and Winnie to ensure they don’t make the same mistakes that he did,” Veldt said.
Bolingbrook resident Alexa Gangoso, who recently graduated from North Central College with a degree in Choral Music Education, plays Granny Foster, Winnie’s grandmother.
She was philosophical about the show, saying “would you really want to live forever at one age your entire life? Outlive your friends, family, and loved ones? Live through the ever-changing world, without the ability to exit it?”
Pfluger spoke about the questions raised in “Tuck Everlasting.”
“It’s an unlikely coming of age story that allows you to celebrate empathy, family and resilience, yet also explore themes that resonate deeply with our talented cast as we explore Winnie’s view of the world. What does it mean to live your life to the fullest? What is forever worth?”
“Tuck Everlasting” runs July 23-25 at the Lyons Township High School South Campus, 4900 Willow Springs Rd. Information is at lattetheater.com.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
