Selkie by Laura Brooks Golobin
First Stage Milwaukee through November 21

	The current production of SELKIE at First Stage Milwaukee is a totally magic experience 
that recreates the mood and atmosphere of a haunting fairy tale from the mystical Orkney Islands. 
When the audience files into the Todd Weir Theater, they are confronted by dark looming 
megaliths arranged across the back of the stage. A scattering of rocks and a suggestion of the 
rugged seashore complete the scene.
	When the lights dim haunting music of the islands is heard while ethereal figures wave 
blue banners to suggest the rhythms of the tide. This wonderfully evocative combination of dance,
music, and poetic language is reflected in every detail of this production. Kassie Misiewicz and 
her production team are to be commended for the quality for this example of total theater.
	The Water Cast members who served as Ellen Jean and Tam (Clonee Kuyper and Brett Rybeck) 
were exemplary in their directness and simplicity. This reinforced the weight and credibility of 
the performance. Deborah Clifton, Megan Cornelius, and Susan Horner as the three Selkies move and
speak with a delicacy and distance that is riveting. As Margaret, the Selkie who is snared by an
Islander and gives birth to Ellen Jean, Clifton is maternal but as distant as one might expect 
such a creature to be. I found the Selkies’ pelts to be lyrically suggestive and practical for
the dancing and swimming they perform.
	Jean Ellen is tortured by her differences from the rest of the population and is tired of
waiting for answers or acceptance from her peers. Her path crosses that of Tam who is also a 
loner and an outcast. The interaction of these two teens leads to a painful separation and a very 
satisfactory ending. Hollis Huston and Kevin Michael Miller as Pa and Duncan offer a telling 
contrast between an aging patriarch and his rough hewn son.
	The issues confronted by the protagonist of this drama are as real and universal as the 
fairy tale is haunting and mystical. I reviewed this production at a performance for students 
and managed to observe  the rapt attention of middle school males (an audience that are well
nigh impossible to play to as parents and teachers can attest). I am sure few of them would admit
to being moved to tears but I noticed one or two and those unfeigned.
	Many of us have had terrible experiences with botched amateur children’s theater but 
First Stage Milwaukee presents professional productions that appeal to a broad audience embracing
children and adults. SELKIE is a great production to serve as a sample of what one can expect 
from this group. If I were restricted to a single example of a detail that captures the essence 
of SELKIE, I would cite the stunning heather torches burning on top of the megaliths. They are
not unlike Moses’ Burning Bush. Call 273-7206 for tickets

DMD

Photo by Sally Moskol	Bendan Weinhold as Tam and Stacie Hauenstein as Ellen Jean