`Yellow Boat' A Touching Look At Life And Death

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"The Yellow Boat," written and directed by David Saar. Produced by Seattle Children's Theatre at the Charlotte Martin Theatre, Seattle Center. Fridays-Sundays through Feb. 19. 441-3322.

"What's it like to die?" That question, coming from a child, challenges the wisdom of any parent. You want to shield a youngster from anxiety and reassure him he has nothing to fear.

But what do any of us really know about death? How do you describe a momentous journey you've not yet taken yourself?

The Seattle Children's Theatre's production of "The Yellow Boat," an award-winning play by Arizona writer-director David Saar, is a sincere and intelligent attempt to help children confront mortality, and reaffirm the preciousness of life.

In this context, a little boy's query about dying takes on immediacy and pathos.

The boy is Benjamin, a character based closely on Saar's late son of the same name. Told from Ben's perspective, the play begins with his joyful birth, continues through his happy early years, and ends with his death at age 8 from AIDS. (The real Ben Saar, a hemophiliac, contracted the disease through a blood transfusion, and died in 1987.)

Visually imaginative, flecked with humor and music, and very frank, "The Yellow Boat" does not soft-pedal mortality. It might sail over the heads of kids younger than 8 or 9. And older children will likely have their own questions to discuss later.

But while it's certainly not escapist entertainment, this fluid tale, accented with colorful scenic effects and performed in choral fashion by a lively seven-member cast, is not a gruesome or maudlin experience.

It tracks Ben's change from a bright, sparky little guy who loves to draw and play into a bright, sparky little guy dying of AIDS. That transformation is achieved gently, and cogently, by Jon Gentry, a compact actor in his mid-30s who portrays Ben without a single disingenuous note or cutesy mannerism.

Sharva Maynard and Craig D. Huisenga capture the pride, love and concern of Ben's parents. And Tracey A. Leigh shines as Joy, the astute "child life specialist" who helps Ben feel safe in the cold and alien world of a hospital.

"The Yellow Boat" steers away from sentimental excess. Ben comes through as a genuine kid, not an idealized poster boy. Once he grows seriously ill, however, the tone grows somewhat more clinical and didactic, and the piece loses some of its whimsy and sparkle.

That may be inevitable, given the facts. But what really buoys "The Yellow Boat" above the level of well-meaning docudrama is the way it explores and celebrates Ben's creativity.

Saar, who staged earlier versions in Arizona and Missouri, anchors his drama with recurring references to a golden sailboat. An image from an old Scandinavian folk song Ben loved, this vessel becomes a vivid, recurring symbol of the transcendent power of art and the imagination.

The canopied, modular white set by Greg Lucas also functions well as a neutral canvas for Amarante Lucero's striking paintbox lighting effects, and for the bright cloth dolls, elastic ropes and other props the actors use to illustrate Ben's story.

And to check out the captivating drawings and picture books the real, very talented Benjamin Saar made himself, venture next door to the Pacific Arts Center. The gallery is exhibiting Benjamin's artwork during the entire run of "The Yellow Boat."