Theatre in Review: Farm Boy (59E59) If you've seen War Horse and are wondering whatever happened to Joey, the title character, you can gallop on over to 59E59 to check out Farm Boy. Taken from a children's book (ages nine and up) by Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse, Farm Boy flashes forward to the present day, where we meet Grandfather, an elderly farmer, and his devoted Grandson, a city boy who prefers the country. We quickly learn that Grandfather is the son of Albert Narracott, the young hero of War Horse, who endures the charnel -house horrors of World War I to retrieve his beloved animal after his father sells it, behind his back, to the army. Do not attend Farm Boy expecting puppets, vast projections, elaborate sound systems, or a cast of dozens, all of which can be found in War Horse. A modest two-hander, its only set piece is an ancient tractor -- which, as it turns out, is the centerpiece of the narrative. Or, more precisely, narratives: Farm Boy consists of two stories stitched together. In the first, Grandson makes a surprising discovery about Grandfather and helps him to solve a problem that has darkened his adult life. In the second, Grandfather recounts how Albert, back from the war, and now married and a father, engaged in a foolish bet with a local farmer, wagering that Joey the horse could plow furrows at the same rate and speed as a tractor. Once you've experienced the tidal wave of primal emotions that is War Horse, the story of Farm Boy might seem pretty paltry. That's how I saw it at first -- and, furthermore, the narrative's highly presentational quality struck me as aimed at the smarter ten-year-olds in the audience. But Morpurgo is a natural storyteller, and, less than halfway into this brief, 70-minute piece, I found myself furiously rooting for Joey to beat that damn tractor; as in War Horse, Morpurgo puts you on the narrative hook and keeps you there until the last possible second. Daniel Buckroyd adapted Farm Boy to the stage, and also directs; in both cases, he makes the most of his modest, but very real, resources. John Walters, who plays Grandfather, is as convincing a specimen of the English countryside as any to be found on a New York stage -- and that includes the Vivian Beaumont, where War Horse is paddocked. His pitch-perfect rural accent, terse manner, and air of aged distraction are all ideal. Whenever Richard Pryal, who plays Grandson, portrays the story's supporting characters, he tends to lay on the funny accents and gestures a little too thickly -- but the rest of the time he's a strong, stalwart presence; it's particularly moving to see him slowly realize that he prefers life on the farm to anywhere else. The incidental music, by Matt Marks, is more like nearly continuous underscoring, and it's a little too weepy at times, exposing the production's slight tendency to push for an emotional response when practically no effort is required. But Mark Dymock's lighting reshapes the space fluidly and creates a number of striking looks with a very small rig. There is no set designer credited; instead, Tim Brierly is responsible for tractor construction and Susan Winters for painting it. I'm not sure how much Farm Boy would mean to anyone who hasn't seen War Horse -- although, by now, there are more than enough War Horse veterans to keep Theatre B at 59E59 full for its entire run, and then some. In any case, Farm Boy is an excellent potential holiday outing for any child -- and you can be sure of having a good time yourself, thanks to Morpurgo's remarkable ability to reduce us all to children, eager to find out what the next page brings.--David Barbour 
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