'Sylvester and the Magic Pebble' Comes To SOPAC on March 10

Tales of transformation often involve discomfort, but they are the beloved comfort zone both for famous children's author and New Yorker illustrator William Steig and for the Enchantment Theatre Company of Philadelphia.  Enchantment, whose stage adaptation employs masks, mime, music and magic, will present Steig's Caldecott-winning story of “Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” at the (SOPAC) on Saturday, March 10 at 11 a.m.

Steig himself is a story of transformation, not forging into children's literature until he reached his sixties, and then winning a Caldecott, the highest honor of the genre, in 1970. Until then, armed with a palette of humor, hope and a dab of darkness, he created 117 magazine covers and 1,600 drawings for The New Yorker. Once he branched out into a second career, he wrote 25 children's books, many of them Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners, until his death in 2003.

His most popular work for children was “Shrek,” a story about an approachable green ogre that was transformed into four successful movies, one of which won the Academy Award for best-animated feature film in 2001, before a stage version opened on Broadway in 2008.

'Sylvester and the Magic Pebble' is the tale of a donkey with a rock collection. One day he happens across a shiny red pebble that grants wishes and, before he knows it and in reaction to a scare from a lion, he turns himself into a rock. That's all he could think to do at the time.

The rest of the saga involves his search to get back to his true self as his parents embark on their own search for their beloved only son. Sylvester's journey teaches him the value of family and friends, always a good lesson.

‘Sylvester and the Magic Pebble’ will be playing at SOPAC this Saturday, March 10 at 11 a.m.  Tickets are $15 ($12 for SOPAC members) and are available online on SOPAC's website or by phone by calling (973) 313-ARTS (2787).  The box office is located in the main lobby Monday - Saturday 12-6 p.m.