*Robert Montgomery Auditorium (RMA) General Seating

BCTjr: The Velveteen Rabbit

December 10 - 12, 2021

Friday (12/10) &  Saturday (12/11) 7:00pm

Saturday (12/11) & Sunday (12/12) 2:30pm

Synopsis

What does Margery Williams tell us about love in her wonderful Christmas Classic? Margery Williams’ beloved classic seems to tell us that love makes us real. Since the Velveteen Rabbit longs to be real and eventually becomes a wild bunny, it’s easy to miss the deeper meaning.

The boy loves his toy rabbit so much that the toy shows its age and becomes shabby. But is Williams really talking about how much a boy loves a toy? As we age we become shabbier just like the Velveteen Rabbit and his mentor the Skin Horse. We may suffer a few bumps and scrapes along the way, but sooner or later we go out of doors and find our own path in a wild new world.

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become real."
Just as Michael recovers from illness and begins to pursue his dreams, so do we all break free of the trappings of childhood and find strength in the past to begin a new future. Although, Margery Williams’ story will bring a tear to your eye, it is really a very hopeful story about a boy who is stepping out into his own new world and finding the courage to pursue a happy adulthood.

As the play ends, everyone gathers around the Christmas tree. Michael realizes that love of family and friends (real and imagined) has carried him through the difficulties of childhood and he is now prepared to face the future.

Directed by Rana Teresa Tan

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