Arts Zone : Spunky ‘Anastasia’ Leaps From Page to Stage

She hates liver, her teacher and her soon-to-come baby brother; she loves writing poems, Mounds bars, the wart on her thumb and Frank the goldfish.

In Newberry Award-winner Lois Lowry’s book “Anastasia Krupnik,” however, the brash, opinionated 10-year-old’s secret lists of loves and hates change almost daily. It’s not easy being a kid with an artist mom, a poet dad and a 92-year-old grandmother who can’t remember your name.

A stage version of this first book in Lowry’s popular Anastasia series opens Oct. 2, kicking off a new season of theater for young audiences at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank. The Falcon’s executive producer, Meryl Friedman, adapted the Lowry book for theater.

“Anastasia’s not your typical saccharine version of a little girl,” Friedman said. “She’s spunky, very outspoken and very literate. Sometimes she’s obnoxious, sometimes she’s rude and sometimes she’s funny. That’s what is so appealing about her; she’s just this real kid.”

Friedman’s adaptation of “Anastasia Krupnik” was first produced in 1998 at Chicago’s Lifeline Theatre, where Friedman was a founder and producing director.

When children there were surveyed about what they’d like to see onstage, Lowry’s book “kept popping up all the time.”

The play, like the book, focuses on how Anastasia feels when she hears that a new baby is due; she’s perfectly happy to be the only child of her two quirky parents.

“It’s about how she comes to terms with the fact that she’s not going to be the only one vying for their attention, in addition to dealing with everything else a 10-year-old deals with,” Friedman said.

Central to the story is Anastasia’s notebook of lists of loves and hates. “As she continues to go on this adventure of her 10-year-old life, things that are on one list kind of get moved to the other list, and at the end everything sort of resolves itself.

“As a reader you get the charm of that,” Friedman continued. To re-create that dynamic, the audience will see pages from the notebook projected on a screen, and Anastasia will talk to the audience directly.

“She breaks from the scene and says, “ ‘OK, here’s what I think, and can you believe I said that, and my parents are so dumb and here’s what I’m writing in my notebook.’

“The first-person narrative presence is very strong,” Friedman said, “that confidential sense you get when you read the book that she’s only telling you, the reader.”

Anastasia’s “realness” is also reflected in her confused feelings for, and her ultimate understanding of, her grandmother.

The play is recommended for ages 5 to 12.

* “Anastasia Krupnik,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank, Oct. 2, noon. Regular schedule: Saturdays, noon and 2 p.m.; Sundays, 1 p.m. Ends Nov. 28. $8.50. (818) 955-8101.

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The 3rd annual Marcia Berman Day of Music for Young Children begins Saturday with an event co-sponsored by the Child Development Center at East Los Angeles College, where there will be a parent and teacher workshop at 9 a.m. and a free family concert at 2 p.m.

On Sunday, children’s singer Jacki Breger and friends will present a free family sing-along as part of downtown’s Grand Performances’ Moonlight and Matinees Concert Series on California Plaza at 3 p.m.

The annual concerts pay tribute to children’s music pioneer Marcia Berman, a recording artist and educator who was a leader in teaching other teachers ways to use music to enrich primary and preschool education.

* 3rd annual Marcia Berman Day of Music for Young Children, East Los Angeles College, Music Building, K8-105, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park. Workshop, 9 a.m., $15. (323) 265-8717. Concert, 2 p.m. Free. (310) 828-6378. “Marcia Berman Family Sing-Along with Jackie Breger and Friends,” California Plaza, 300-350 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, 3 p.m. Free. (213) 687-2159, (310) 828-6378.

The L.A. Baroque Orchestra’s 1999-2000 season launches with “Across the Seas,” a free musical journey for families with children from toddlers to sixth grade Oct. 2 at the Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch.

Founder and music director Gregory Maldonado will be the violinist; he’ll be joined by guitarist Richard Savino, violinist Janet Worsley-Strauss and violoncellist William Skeen in a program that explores the history of the guitar from the late Renaissance through the Classical periods. The program will feature music from Europe and the Americas, including works by Antonio Vivaldi and Santiago de Murcia.

During the concert, the artists will talk about the music, bringing to life time and place, and they’ll invite questions from the audience.

* “Across the Seas,” Santa Monica Public Library Main Branch, 1343 6th St., Santa Monica, Oct. 2, 2 p.m. Free. (310) 458-0425.