CENTRAL PARK — Central Park became an enchanted forest when a children's theater group transformed it into the set for a dance performance based on "East of the Sun West of the Moon."
The interactive play, conceived by Meagan Miller-McKeever, Stina Hurtado and Greg Taubman, turned the Pilgrim Hill area of the park Thursday into the fairy tale kingdom of Raina, a young girl who leaves home and falls in love with the mystical White Wolf.
"I love the fairy costume because fairies fly and I like things that fly," Upper East Sider Daffny Lebowitz, 4, said as she watched the play with her babysitter.
"It's a pretty dress," she added, remarking on one of the actresses' costumes, an ethereal green and blue frock with a poofy skirt and long, draping sleeves.
As the plot developed, the spectators followed Raina on her quest in the fantasy world, skipping and dancing up and down the hill on the east side of the park near 72nd street.
During the play, onlookers can bounce between several stations where different parts of the plot are developing.
Ultimately, the journey reveals a vile troll who captures Raina's heart, only to be beaten by the wolf, who turns out to be a beloved friend of the girl's. The final battle between the wolf and the troll takes place under the bridge near the boathouse and lake, where the troll lives.
"It was cool," Lily Harrigan-Laquercia, 7, of Texas, said after the play, adding that her only complaint was that "it was very tiring."
Her father, Brett Laquercia, a musician, added that he thought the different stations made the play so enchanting to follow.
"I love the sort of free form approach," he said. "I liked how it continued on even if someone was doing something and no one was watching."
The performance ultimately lost and gained followers as it weaved through different areas and sub-plots. One person would never be able to catch the entire play as the actors were often several feet away from each other acting out different portions of the show simultaneously.
But the meandering nature of the show is the point, Taubman said, adding that it was inspired by childhood.
"I know as a little kid I always loved to wander around, and grown-ups couldn't get me to stay still," he said, laughing. "We let the park tell us what to do."
"One of the things that’s so exciting about this is that when you watch a play on a stage that’s all you have," one of the writers, Christina Hurtado, 26, of the Upper West Side, added.
"You’re guided through the story, there’s room for the audience to create their own experience."
The sub-plots with different characters were the best part, she thought.
"This is like choose your own adventure theater," Hurtado said.
"East of the Sun West of the Moon" runs Aug. 4-13 at Pilgrim Hill in Central Park, located at East 72nd Street just south of the reflecting pool. Show are at 2 p.m. Aug. 4-6 and 11-13.
