WS Chronicle

By Judie Holcomb-Pack

Just a little over ten years ago Charlie Lovett took a leap of faith, leaving his position with Summit School to write full time. He had been writer-in-residence in theatre arts, where he wrote numerous plays for student productions during his 11 years at Summit. With the publication of “The Bookman’s Tale” in 2014, which became a New York Times best seller, Lovett decided the time was right to make a career change. 

So much has happened in that short time: “The Bookman’s Tale” was published in 2014; ”Escaping Dreamland” was published in 2020 (during the pandemic);  “Lewis Carroll: Formed by Faith” and “The Enigma Affair” were published in 2022. And he adapted his book “Escaping Dreamland” into a play. 

Lovett said that over several years he had been asked, “Why don’t you adapt one of your books into a play?” He pondered the idea, but let it go until 2019 when Phil Powell, artistic director of the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, again said, “You should adapt one of your books into a play.” After getting together with Mark Pirolo, former artistic director of 40+ Stage company, a meeting that stretched into a four-hour conversation, he knew exactly which one: “Escaping Dreamland.”

Before Lovett began to work on the script, he gathered together good friends who had read the book and asked each of them to reread the book and to decide what scenes or portions of the book would be absolutely essential to the play. The next time they got together, the essence of the play started coming together. This was during the pandemic so much of their conversations took place outdoors on Lovett’s patio with everyone wearing masks. Over the course of about a year, the conversations continued and the script took shape. It was a slow process to take a 300-page book and shrink it down into a two-hour play. In the winter of 2022 Lovett brought together actors and theatre professionals for a table read of his play and the feedback they gave him was invaluable as he continued to make changes to the script. He said writing the play became “a group effort.” 

Lovett’s idea for the book “Escaping Dreamland” came when he was recovering from surgery and had trouble sleeping. He recalled how much he loved reading “The Hardy Boys” as a kid and he wanted to write something similar, a coming of age book with characters you could identify with. He found a copy of a book his grandfather had that was published in 1903 and that inspired him to set the story in early New York City. He said that so many books of historical fiction had been written that focused on famous people, but he wanted to write a book about everyday people and how the times they lived in affected them. His book, and the play it is based on, is more character-driven, not plot driven. 

Lovett noted that “some of the scenes in the play are not in the book and parts of the book are not in the play.” Along with the three main characters, Tom, Magda and Gene, the city of New York also becomes a character. 

The Little Theatre’s press release describes the play as “an enchanting tale of friendship, ambition, loyalty and regret, set against the backdrop of New York’s Gilded Age. Tom, Magna and Gene are strangers with very different backgrounds who find camaraderie and a sense of belonging as they begin writing children’s books together. Good times mix with bad, though, as dark memories and hidden secrets begin to surface.”

The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem will present the world premiere of “Escaping Dreamland” on March 15-17 at HanesBrand Theater, 209 N. Spruce St. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinee will be at 2 p.m. An opening night reception with complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Raffaldini Vineyards and Compass Financial Services will be held on Friday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m. There will be a talk-back after the Saturday evening performance with the playwright and actors. For tickets, go to www.LTofWS.org.

During a conversation at Bookmarks on March 4 with Lovett and the actors who play Tom, Magda and Gene, (Charlie Putnam, Hunter Harrell and Tanner Whicker, respectively,) Lovett mentioned that after his father died in February, he realized that all three of these characters in the play had also lost their fathers. 

He said he hopes what the audience takes from the play is that “as we search for our identity, the scars from our past tragedies will always be with us, but they don’t have to define us.”