Last weekend we went to Arena Stage to see A Wrinkle in Time: A New Musical. It was an adventurous and not-all-together successful adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery Medal-winning classic novel.

After we saw the production, I came home and immediately reread L’Engle’s best-known work. I’ll talk more about the musical, which is in production through this Sunday; but let me first tell you why I love the book.

A Wrinkle in Time (1962) by Madeleine L’Engle is often described as a teenage or young adult novel, which does it a great disservice. Although it is one of the books that begins with what has been celebrated as a horrible opening line—“It was a dark and stormy night”—it quickly stretches the mind and expands the heart for readers of all ages. In the midst of the storm the teenaged Meg Murry, who can always see her faults all-too-well; her small and brilliant brother Charles Wallace; and her beautiful mother, patiently waiting for her husband’s return after a long, mysterious absence have come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Suddenly they are interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Whatsit, a most disturbing stranger bundled up in clothes, wrapped in scarves of assorted colors, with a man’s felt hat perched on top of her head. It seems that Charles Wallace has met Mrs. Whatsit—and her two friends Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which—before. As she prepares to leave, she says, “Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.”

And the magical story begins.

“Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?”

Each of the children has gifts. Charles Wallace is different, as Mrs. Murray once described to Meg. His “difference isn’t physical. It’s in essence.” Calvin is a good communicator. Meg’s faults are actually her gifts, as her anger and impatience will help as they navigate time and space and are sucked into a world where they are exhorted to give up the essence of what makes them human.

I have read A Wrinkle in Time at several different stages of life. Probably first as a young adult. Certainly again in my early 30s. Then I pulled out my treasured copy, signed for me by Madeleine L’Engle at a writing workshop, and reread it in my early 60s. And now, at age 70, I once again removed it from the bookshelf and was reminded all over again of the power of imagination, friendship, and love. Above all love.

The book has frequently shown up on banned books lists (go figure) because some members of the Christian right cannot think outside a rigid box of their own construction. L’Engle had a different concept of time, wonder, and love than that of many more traditional believers. I, for one, have always been comforted by her suggestion that we are “still every age we’ve ever been.” It is yet another way of pushing back against a linear concept of time.

L’Engle is a writer I turn to again and again, and often during hard times. I’ve included her Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage on past lists of the most influential books I’ve read. The jacket blurb describes it well: “The story of a marriage of true minds and spirits—a brilliant writer’s tribute to lasting love.” While I don’t always hit the mark personally, I am always blessed when I read L’Engle’s short but lovely book. Her Glimpses of Grace—where “she affirms the virtues of imagination, intuition, and intelligence” (no small feat these days)—is also a favorite.

A wonderful and graceful writer, L’Engle returns to the theme of love throughout her books. In The Irrational Season she writes about the difficulties one encounters in any long-term relationship.

“No long-term marriage is made easily, and there have been times when I’ve been so angry or so hurt that I thought my love would never recover. And then, in the midst of near despair, something has happened beneath the surface. A bright little flashing fish of hope has flicked silver fins and the water is bright and suddenly I am returned to a state of love again—till next time.”

L’Engle’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, writes that she loves this quotation, which has resonance beyond what happens in a marriage. “This flashing fish of hope flicking its silver fins until a state of love returns feel like what happens over and over and over again in many different contexts. It’s what Meg learns in A Wrinkle in Time—that she has the strength and gifts needed to resist IT and the shadow—that love will return.”

If you’ve never read A Wrinkle in Time . . . or if it has been a while . . . let me encourage you to pick it up and dive into the world of tesseracts, friendly beasts, quantum physics, interstellar space, IT, and love.

While the new musical hits on some of the wonders of Wrinkle, it also misses the boat in other areas. First, it helps to have an understanding of the story, because you may not always know what is happening in this new production. Most of the actors (some are Broadway vets) are good, the music to my ear is one of the highlights, and the singing is excellent. Everyone agrees that it is too long. The actor playing Charles Wallace is a terrific singer, but seems too old to make the story work in its original context. There are generally positive reviews, very mixed reviews, and several “don’t go see this production” reviews. Adapting a classic is difficult.

This is a world premier that will be taken out on the road. If the producers decide it is worth it (and I think it is), they’ll rework it and rework it, stage other productions, and eventually try to get it to Broadway. We actually saw very early pre-Broadway productions in Washington of Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away. Both needed a good bit of work. Both ended up being big successes once they made it to New York.

I don’t know if A Wrinkle in Time: The Musical has that in its future, but I do give the team that put it together all the credit for trying. This is a story that, while perhaps hard to adapt, deserves to be told.

More to come . . .

DJB

Image: NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope First Images – Star-Forming Region