Prince Caspian Stage Play Review

Seeing Prince Caspian come alive on stage was a great pleasure and one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen recently, on stage or otherwise. The Academy of Arts (the parent company of Logos Theater which produced the play) is, along with Angel Studios, at the vanguard of high-quality, faith-based entertainment. What sets them apart is that they let the works they’re adapting speak for themselves and they embrace the rip-roaring adventure. Nicole Stratton’s (the director and Nurse in the play) vision for the adaptation will warm the heart of any lover of the book and Narnia series.  

              The play is as faithful an adaptation as one could have barring reading the book word for word and having actors pantomime. As with all adaptations, somethings must be left out or modified for the medium or time. The things she chose to leave out, such as Bacchus and the friction between Dr. Cornelius and the Old Narnians, doesn’t take away anything from the story. The story could have survived some other deletions or modifications to leave room for embellishments. The stage play does place added emphasis on the relationship between Prince Caspian and his nurse which helps to make Caspian more sympathetic and offers more of a pay off at the end of the play. You can listen to the podcast episode here where Nicole Stratton explains her reasoning behind the addition.

              The play also embraces movement and special effects. One of my favorite scenes in the play was when the Pevensie children are pulled into Narnia. The scene is so much more exciting and believable than the one from the movie adaptation. The actors and special effects work so well together that I thought for a second that I might be pulled in myself, and in a way I was. The puppeteers who built and brought Aslan and the other animals to life are truly artists. Justin Swain, the chief puppeteer, needs an award for what he has accomplished. One of my favorite moments came after the play when kids could meet Aslan and the puppeteers knelt down to let the kids pet him. That spoke volumes to me about where their heart is and their dedication to their craft.

              Attending a matinee, where lots of kids were in attendance, was also the best way to watch the production. The play was truly cinematic and kept every kid engrossed for its entirety. The way they all gasped and squealed when Reepicheep and, especially, Aslan come on stage was special.

The squabbles I have concern the story itself and not the adaptation. For a book titled Prince Caspian, the eponymous character has a surprising lack of agency. Much is determined for him, and he literally doesn’t fight his own battles. The story also starts off focusing on the Pevensies then stops to give an extended exposition, so one could wonder who the story is actually about – the Pevensies, Prince Caspian, the Narnians, or someone else?

The play is running at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. from 01 March to 27 April 2024. You can purchase tickets at this site. You can learn more about the Academy of the Arts and Logos Theater at this site.