Axis Company NYC | Archives | Seven in One Blow

photo: Dixie Sheridan (click to enlarge)

Mack: John Murphy
Frankie: David Crabb
Kid: Abigail Savage
Ogre: Jim Sterling
Scarlet Pimpernel: Brian Barnhart
A Voice: Mr. Sharp
The QK: George Demas
Princess Fartina: Wren Arthur
The Witch: Sue Ann Molinell
December: Edgar Oliver
A Pea: Laurie Kilmartin

Director: Randy Sharp
Production Stage Manager: Jared Abramson
Light Design: David Zeffren
Sound Design & Music Arrangement: Steve Fontaine
Costume & Set Design: Kate Aronsson
Original Music: Randy Sharp
Film Editor: Mike Huetz
Graphics: Ethan Crenson
Artwork: Paul Jeffries
Light Board: Guy Carden
Executive Producer: Jeffrey Resnick
Box Office Manager: Cooper Vasquez

Axis Company, the acclaimed Off-Broadway theater group, will present its inaugural show for kids, Seven In One Blow, or The Brave Little Kid. Adapted from the classic fairy tale by The Brothers Grimm, this interactive play with music is conceived by the Axis Company and directed by Randy Sharp featuring Axis' signature blend of advanced technology and live performance. Children in the audience will be encouraged to participate in many of the Kid's challenges with singing and organized "shout outs." Appropriate for ages 5 and up.

In Seven In One Blow, or The Brave Little Kid, a child living in the city kills seven flies with a single rag and makes a belt emblazoned with "SEVEN IN ONE BLOW" to commemorate the event. As he is traveling about, most people think his belt refers to seven people and assign the Kid all kinds of difficult tasks based on this faulty presumption. Along the way a few interesting things are learned: an Ogre finds that you don't always have to show how strong you are... sometimes it's okay just to be quiet about it; a girl realizes that when you tease people you are hurting someone who may be just like you; and a scary monster understands that because she is loved, she may not be so scary after all. In the end, the Kid ultimately discovers that a parents' love and care has no bounds.

The New York Times
December 20, 2002
Seven in One Blow, or The Brave Little Kid

Small and Strong
The Axis Company bills its first children's production, "Seven in One Blow, or the Brave Little Kid," as the greatest play ever. Although this may seem immodest, the narrator offers a reason that appeals to the audience: "You're all in the play."

He's right. The theatergoers do have lines, which conveniently appear on a huge video screen. No advanced reading is required, and what could be better than a play that asks you to shout? Well, one that asks you to sing. The children help chase away a music-hating witch with a rousing chorus of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

All this fun is part of an updated version of "The Brave Little Tailor," the classic tale about a humble tradesman who wipes out seven flies with one hit and then emblazons "seven in one blow" on his clothes. He does nothing, of course, to disabuse his adversaries of the notion that he has whacked seven people.

In the hourlong Axis adaptation, directed by Randy Sharp, the hero is a lonely city child whose parents are preoccupied with their jobs and social lives. (Deborah Harry – yes, that Deborah Harry – does a video cameo as the mother.) And as this "brave little kid" triumphs over an ogre, a witch, selfish royalty and a monster, the audience learns not to judge anything by its appearance, from parents to peas. Even the identity of the brave little kid challenges preconceptions: just think of this twist as the Brothers Grimm meet "The Crying Game."

My son also thought of another reason that "Seven in One Blow" is the greatest play ever: the actors pass out candy at the end.

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