English import ‘Enormous Crocodile’ makes Roald Dahl delightful – Twin Cities

Funny thing about Roald Dahl. Describe one of the English author’s macabre tales to a parent and they might be horrified that their child would be exposed to such a story. But the kids are usually just fine with it.

That has a lot to do with the sense of playfulness with which Dahl permeated his children’s books, and “The Enormous Crocodile” is a prime example. No story of his was more clearly designed for younger readers, yet the central figure is a beast intent upon eating a child.

But fear not: The theatrical adaptation currently being presented at Children’s Theatre Company’s smaller street-level space is wonderfully fun for all ages. Sporting a clever script and marvelously imaginative puppets, it’s an hour-long, smile-inducing delight.

Friday night marked the first U.S. performance of a production that comes to us from England, where it was co-produced by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and Leeds Playhouse. Overseeing the staging is the Roald Dahl Story Company, which, interestingly, is owned by Netflix. But there’s nothing corporate about what’s onstage at CTC: It still has the homespun air of a performance in the park, intent upon engaging with the children in the audience and throwing in some funny easter eggs for the adults, too.

Yet don’t mistake its groundlings-friendly feel for a lack of professionalism, as the résumés of several among its cast and crew list stints with two of the world’s great theater companies, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Great Britain. Be it in the varied characterizations, colorful choreography, rapid-fire costume changes or a dazzling design scheme, this is a slick staging.