Charlotte's Web at Flat Rock Playhouse

A lot of family theater consists of adult actors taking the lead roles and salting child actors through the show in smaller parts. Not so Charlotte’s Web at Flat Rock Playhouse. This production from Studio 52, “The Vagabond School of the Drama,” gives all the key roles save one to kids. And they do a great job.

The familiar story, from the children’s book by E.B. White, adapted by Joseph Robinette, focuses on Wilbur, a runt pig who is more than once in mortal danger but is saved by a friendly barn spider who weaves “SOME PIG” into her web. This “miracle” makes Wilbur a local sensation, much to the delight of little Fern Arable, the girl who considers Wilbur her best friend.

Wilbur is here played by the supremely confident Mae Hodge, a little girl who handles a full play’s worth of dialogue and emotional ups and downs like a pro. Her counterpart is Emersyn Massaro, as Fern, who’s sweet and sincere. Full-grown actor Cassidy Brown is Charlotte, wearing a wonderful biker-aviator-spider costume and clinging to a giant web (rolled in from the wings) on which words magically appear. She makes for such a grounded and sympathetic arachnid that you might hesitate to step on the next spider you see. (All Ashli Arnold Crump’s farm costumes are terrific — evocative of animals but wisely short of full, furry suits.)

There are too many cast members to name each one, but a couple earned opening-night reactions worth noting. The biggest laugh-getter was Cyrus Hardin, an adept physical comedian who played Templeton the rat, scratching amusingly at his fat rodent tummy and polishing his “claws” with his tail. He delivered the rat’s bitter-witty lines with a nice balance of sarcasm and reluctant compassion. Xavier Cacanindin hammed it up appropriately as Avery, Fern’s boisterous older brother, and was another audience favorite.

The stage is often packed with actors. There are a handful of adults as parents and townspeople and musicians, but children play all the farm animals and the storytellers, as well as additional neighbors and fairgoers. Kudos to director Claire K. Simpson for marshaling this bubbling, all-ages army — especially those tittering goslings, played by the cast’s youngest members — and for making sure the adults’ slightly exaggerated performances blended with the youths’ acting.

This is a Flat Rock Mainstage production, but it’s distinctly family theater — the only thing preventing all the parents and friends in the audience from holding up mobile phones to capture every moment being the Playhouse’s prohibition on recording. Adult audiences can expect to be amused and very likely moved by the end, but the target audience is families, and children will no doubt love it. It’s 90 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission, so it’s not too taxing on little ones’ patience.

This adult viewer’s only real criticism concerns the music. The talented musicians onstage add brightness and atmosphere to the proceedings (taking place in Chris Simpson’s homey and functional set), but they’re given too little to do. Their offerings are mere fragments that don’t last long enough to build much feeling, and their bluegrass-like style clashes with the canned American classical music (possibly Aaron Copland) that’s also used. There’s no credit listed for a musical director, and the show might have benefited from a more cohesive vision for its soundtrack.

But no matter. The families in the audience likely didn’t share my musical frustrations, being taken in instead by all the children onstage having a great time and performing with enthusiasm and budding talent. If you’ve got a friend or friend of a friend or a relative in the show — or you and your family just enjoy quality children’s theater — check it out soon. The run, which had been announced to end March 28, will now go only through March 22. Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms should stay home.

For tickets and information, visit flatrockplayhouse.org.