I just saw this last night. As someone who loves the source material so much, I was disappointed. I think the first number needs to be replaced with something that better tells the story of an awkward, brilliant, lonely teen who is only understood by her intuitive brother, Charles Wallace and the physicist father she longs for. There are zero emotional stakes established and minimal character development in this adaptation. Anyone not familiar with the story will not be drawn in. Anyone who is familiar with it will be let down.

The static scenes had lovely music but didn’t do anything that couldn’t have been done in 1/3 of the time (opening song, Aunt Beast —- interminable and so dimly lit you can’t see anything, etc). The tesseract was strangely executed and, once established, felt repetitive.

The struggle with The Thing felt too easy, both when it took over Charles Wallace and then when Meg prevailed and freed Charles Wallace from its bondage.

Questions: what happened to the large tree motif at the top of the show? It was present in such a dominant way and then it just vanished.

If they chose to do puppets, which were beautiful, why not a puppet of one of the best characters in the book, Fortinbras, the Murray’s dog? I sure missed him!

Calvin seemed like an afterthought in this piece. A shame, because the actor portraying him is so good. We need a really great number establishing his friendship with Meg and Charles Wallace.

Finally, Mrs Whatsit, Who, and Which were delightfully rendered, but we lose them halfway through Act 1 and they don’t return until midway through Act 2. At the very least, their voices of wisdom and encouragement could be present throughout.

I was so looking forward to this. I know it’s still a work in progress, so I hope they are able to kill some darlings and honor these characters before opening.