On The Radar: An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein

An Adult Evening with Shel Silverstein

Thursday, March 9-Saturday, March 11 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Mar. 11 2:30 p.m. Loeb Experimental Theatre. Tickets at the Loeb Drama Center Box Office. 617-547-3800. Free.

We all remember Shel Silverstein from our numerous childhood encounters with his classic children’s stories, poetry and musical compositions. But what most of us don’t know is that Silverstein began his career in 1956 working for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Magazine. Strange to imagine that the man who brought us “A Light in the Attic,” “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” and “The Giving Tree” simultaneously drafted scandalously entertaining works for adults.

While Silverstein’s website is subtitled “The Official Site for Kids,” he seems comfortable embracing his somewhat seedier origins.“An Evening with Shel Silverstein” will feature his lesser-known, but equally delightful works, for the benefit of an uninitiated Harvard audience.

This particular production is notable for its revival of these hidden drama-treasures. Though anyone expecting the tame—yet clever—Silverstein so loved by librarians across the country is in for a surprise. Those who can appreciate darker, more challenging humor will not want to miss this show.

Producer Aliza H. Aufrichtig ’08, who is also a Crimson editorial seditor, says this production “takes everything you thought you knew about Shel Silverstein and turns it on its head.”

Even the setting is unconventional—the show is set in an attic. So head to that place where the sidewalk ends, and the show begins; there’s nothing like returning to your roots, even if they have grown a little more twisted.