Review by James Wilkinson

‘Paul Bunyan and the Winter of the Blue Snow’ – Story Conceived by Matthew Woods. Written by Matthew Woods and the Ensemble. Directed by Matthew Woods. Costume Design by Cotton Talbot-Minkin. Lighting Design by Robin Donovan Bocchiaro. Scenic Design by Megan Kinneen. Properties Design by Sophia Nora Giordano. Presented by imaginary beasts at Charlestown Working Theatre, 442 Bunker Hill St, Charlestown through February 10

An audience is a strange beast to contend with. When you gather a large group of people to sit together and watch a performance, it kicks off a reaction that’s actually not too dissimilar from a speed dating event. The lights go up and we all go, “Show me what you’ve got.” That first ten minutes can be lethal. The audience either buys your wares or kicks you to the curb. I bring this up because Imaginary Beasts has opened their new annual winter pantomime, Paul Bunyan and the Winter of the Blue Snow (An American Tall Tale), and part of what’s so fascinating and wonderful about it is the response it generates in the audience. Viewers are freed from everything they’ve ever been taught about “appropriate” theater audience behavior. They’re allowed to approach the work the way children do, with a giddy sense of play. This was only my second time going to one of Imaginary Beasts’ winter pantos. My first was last year’s production of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, which was memorable for me because of how it caught me off guard with just how much fun it was. A year later, I’m happy to report back that Paul Bunyan keeps with the tradition of raising goofiness to the level of high art.