The Christmas Star

This is a bizarre puppet play about a boy named Wilbur who goes to Little Town on Christmas Eve to buy a Christmas star. While in Little Town, Wilbur hears the Salvation Army Band, watches the marvelous Teddy Bear Parade, and observes the antics of the Pocket Gophers, self-proclaimed punks who eventually learn about giving and the true spirit of Christmas. In addition, Wilbur meets and sings with a wandering caroler/guitarist. Although pleasingly staged, The Christmas Star is more than a little obtuse about its point. There are several references to "children starving in China," a huge and rather inappropriate metaphor for either the world's ills or the preference of receiving to giving. Finally, it is this chasm between the message of "it's better to give than receive" and the objective, feeding the "starving children in China," that is too broad to cross. Not only is the cliche likely to be unfamiliar to modern children, it is inaccurate, in the sense that, proportionately speaking, there are far graver examples of starvation elsewhere in the world. Imaginatively staged, yet partly cloudy on its meaning, The Christmas Star is not a necessary purchase. (Available from: Butterfly Puppet Theatre, 312 North 40th St., Rapid City, SD 57702.)