Barter Players bring 'The Call of the Wild' to Chilhowie

For a fourth year, the Barter Players will continue honoring their history of making theater accessible by coming to Chilhowie High School Auditorium Feb. 12. At 3 p.m. the players will present a stage adaptation of Jack London’s novel “The Call of the Wild.” 

According to Barter promotional materials, the story follows Buck, “kidnapped from his master's home and forced to serve as a sled dog in the Klondike Gold Rush. In his struggle to survive, he quickly learns the ‘law of club and fang.’ When he is facing death, a man saves Buck, and in return Buck gives his unswerving loyalty. In the end, Buck must choose between living in a man's world and answering the call of the wild.”  

The theater said the play is recommended for ages 8 and up.

Catherine Bush adapted the novel for the stage.

According to Barter Players Artistic Director Katy Brown, violence in the play is handled like dance, with much of it in slow motion. “I think 2nd grade and up is a great age. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts are going to eat this up. Audience members between 8 and 80 are in for a theatrical thrill ride with this show. It is one of the best I've seen in years.”

In his director’s notes, John Hardy said when he was a child, The Call of the Wild inspired him “to seek adventure. When I read it again, as an adult, I was inspired by the sheer genius of the writing. But what inspires me most is Buck, himself; the dog at the center of the story. That Buck. Sweet, strong, soft, vicious, determined Buck. No matter what he is faced with, he manages to get through it.”

Felicia Eller of the Town of Chilhowie said Monday adult tickets are $7 “but all students and children are $1 plus one canned food item to be donated to the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry” in Chilhowie.

A 2009 production of Tuck Everlasting was apparently the first time the Abingdon-based State Theatre of Virginia staged a play for the general public in Chilhowie.

Including canned food in the admission price is a nod to theater history as well as a boon to the local food pantry. Barter Theatre’s history recounts its founding during the Depression by actor Robert Porterfield. Needing work and hungry in New York City, Porterfield came home to Washington County with a plan for letting patrons barter produce for plays, trading “ham for Hamlet.”

dkegley@wythenews.com