A Fantasy Revisited

Actress Bridget Hanley returns to Theatre West on Monday for a special performance of her evocative one-woman show for children, “Bronwen, the Traw and the Shape-Shifter,” poet James Dickey’s adventure-filled, epic fantasy.

Hanley portrays Bronwen, a little girl who uses a garden tool and her “gumption” to defend a kingdom of squirrels and “frightened children everywhere” from the terrifying “All-Dark”; she serves as narrator and plays a pair of endearing squirrels.

Hanley, along with collaborator and director John Gallogly, has made a commitment to bringing to life the rich imagery and rhythms of Dickey’s language. She considers his children’s work the poet’s “morning” side. (Hanley also periodically tours a solo version of Dickey’s unsettling “May Day Sermon” for adults. It’s the “evening” side of a writer whose work can be dark, indeed; it was Dickey who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for “Deliverance.”)

* “Bronwen, the Traw and the Shape-Shifter,” Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles, Monday, 11 a.m. $8. (323) 851-7977.

All the World’s a Stage: It’s not quite the same, but young theater fans can check out the work of companies around the world in a new video series called “Globalstage” aimed at ages 7 to 14. So far, the series consists of Collodi’s “Pinocchio,” a commedia dell’arte production performed by Stage One of Louisville, Ky.; “Cyrano,” an adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s beautiful classic, presented by the Blauw Vier theater company of Antwerp, Belgium; and “Frankenstein,” Stage One’s version of Mary Shelley’s atmospheric horror tale.

The company’s fourth offering will be Thomas Hardy’s “Far From the Madding Crowd,” presented by England’s Snap People’s Theatre.

Two other titles, scheduled for release by the end of the year, are yet to be announced.

Each production has been filmed by the British Broadcasting Corp.; each features an introduction by Irish-born Elizabeth McNamer, a professor of literature and religion, and her 13-year-old sidekick, Preston Blakely. The informative interchange between the two is theatrically awkward, but refreshingly unpatronizing, providing historical, ideological and cultural context for each play.

“I think that the BBC has really captured the experience of actors on a stage, and the vibrancy of the theater,” said Globalstage marketing director Abbi Kaplan. “They mix up the camera angles to make it almost seem that you’re there.”

“We’re not saying it’s the same thrill of walking into a theater,” noted Globalstage founder Lizbeth Pratt. “But it’s not [a passive TV experience], either, because what’s happening is not all laid out for you. You see diversity, you see ideas and concepts. It forces the viewer to be involved because [as in a theater experience] your mind has to fill in the blanks.”

Inspiration for the series was sparked by Pratt’s desire to find entertainment that wasn’t “dumbed down” for her young son, and because, after she and her son saw “a really good play,” she was disappointed that no video of the performance existed.

Pratt, a stock options trader in her everyday life, now regularly travels nationally and internationally, looking for productions to add to her series’ eclectic mix.

“There’s no theme,” she said. “We just want it to be exciting.” For anyone who thinks such plays as “Cyrano” or “Far From the Madding Crowd” might be “too sophisticated for kids,” Pratt said, “I believe whatever you feed to children, they will grasp it. There’s nothing wrong with giving them some meaty stuff. We don’t call it educational,” she added. “We say, it doesn’t insult your intelligence.”

* Globalstage video series: six-play subscription, $135; individual titles, $27. (888) 32-GLOBE. https://www.globalstage.net

Star Creations: Artwork may not be the first thing you think of when you hear such names as Rosie O’Donnell, Dennis Franz or Barbara Bush, but each has created a piece of art to pay tribute to “Sesame Street’s” 30th year, along with other celebrities, cast members and special friends. The results can be seen in “Art From the Fuzzy and Famous,” an exhibition launching its 12-city national tour on July 14 at the Every Picture Tells a Story gallery and bookstore.

The exhibition, which also includes creations by Carly Simon, Katie Couric, Kevin Kline and Tony Bennett, will be displayed with props from the show in a re-creation of a “Sesame Street” environment.

* “Art From the Fuzzy and Famous,” Every Picture Tells a Story, 7525 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, Mondays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., July 14-26. Free. (323) 932-6070.