Sweetness Follows A Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Tail perfect for little tykes. BY SUZI STEFFEN Piglet (Sarah Schull) and Pooh (Joe Oyala) try to cheer up Eeyore (Sarah Ragle). Rounding the corner of the UO's Robinson Theatre, following the "Mad Duckling Box Office this way!" signs, a person — child or adult — might stop with glee to read the giant map of the "100 Aker Wood." The Hundred-Acre Wood, as any child could explain, is the mythical home of Christopher Robin's stuffed animals when they're living their real lives. It's where Rabbit's relations multiply, where Owl peers out testily, where Pooh finds his way to the Bee Tree. In the Mad Duckling production of A Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Tail, most of the favorites appear. Much singing marks this production although the songs won't be familiar (maybe Disney has a copyright on "It's a Wonderful Thing About Tiggers"?). Piglet (Sarah Shull), Christopher Robin (Joe Doyle) and Tigger/Owl (Melissa Walther) carry the songs; when Eeyore/Kanga (Sarah Ragle) has a signature moment, well, let's just say that Richard Harris in Camelot also spoke a lot of his songs. The story's not quite compelling, though well-known to the Pooh crowd: Eeyore, depressed, loses her tail just before her birthday party, and Eeyore's friends swear to find it. The looking rambles — the play might better be called How to Get to Owl's House in More than 45 Minutes — but there are amusing moments, especially the song in which Rabbit (Steve Wehmeier) dreams of a life as a commanding presence. The most successful moments come when performers fan out and engage young audience members and when the kids begin to interact. For instance, the tail is revealed late in the show, but Pooh (Joseph Oyala) doesn't quite see it until the groundswell of informative little voices ("There's the tail! THAT'S THE TAIL!!!") grows too large to ignore. It's somewhat disconcerting to see an older adult dressed in gray sweatpants as Rabbit or a younger adult with a pronounced (fake) beer belly playing Pooh Bear, but the medium-little kids (aged late 3 to 7) seemed well equipped to deal with a certain suspension of disbelief. The younger ones acted frightened, the older ones bored. But that leaves a lot of years in between. Bring a blanket, sunblock, snacks and drinks, and, if your wee one is celebrating a birthday, be sure to let someone with Mad Duckling know ahead of the show. A Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Tail runs through July 22. Performances on the lawn outside the UO's Robinson Theater begin at 11 am and cost $5.
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