It Came From the Basement: The Never Bird's Wheelchair

The latest in a new series with which I'm trying to reinvigorate the DaveTronik 2000 blog. In these posts, I will write about an item or items currently stored in the unfinished side of my basement. Many of them have been stashed in boxes for decades, waiting for this moment.

This looks like something out of a late-19th century British orphanage, doesn't it? Made out of wicker and standing just shy of two feet high, this wheelchair -- or is it a carriage for a small child? -- was a prop that my son, Owen, used in one of his school plays a few years ago.

The Corwin-Russell School @ Broccoli Hall, located in Sudbury, was where Owen attended from 8th grade through a gap year. It was a great place for him. A big part of the school's identity and culture is theater. I should say, THEATER! Every year, the entire community at the small school -- students, teachers, office staff, parents, siblings -- gets together to "put on a show." They gather at the school and a local theater during January and early February to rehearse lines, make costumes, build and paint sets, rehearse choreography, bond with each other, rehearse and then rehearse some more. (To be clear, parents don't perform in the play, and only new teachers take a role on stage alongside the students.)

I wrote about Owen's first experience with the school's play back in February 2016.

In 2019, the students performed "Never Land: A Musical," an adaptation of J.M. Barrie's story, "Peter Pan." This was a change from the school's usual choice to perform well-known shows, ranging from "The Little Mermaid" to "Billy Elliot" to "Sister Act."

Written by school staffer Jake Egan O'Hara, the son of the school's founders, who has extensive experience in acting and costuming, the show was longer than the typical fare the students perform. Nevertheless, the show was well-acted as always, and the costumes and sets were as over-the-top brilliant as ever.

As for Owen, he played a character I -- and many other folks -- had never heard of: the Never Bird. The role was perfect for him, in that he didn't have to speak, and he was only on stage for a few minutes. His costume featured a riot of brightly colored feathers, striped leggings, topped by a bird-shaped hat full of plumage. For a kid who was already the tallest in school, this outfit made him stick out all the more.

He placed large eggs in the wheelchair/carriage, and then distributed them to characters on stage. His appearance on stage generated plenty of "Oh my gosh!" and "Amazing!" comments from the crowd.

As for the Never Bird, the character is mentioned only in passing in "Peter Pan," but features more prominently in "Peter and Wendy," according to this Neverpedia page. The character is female in J.M. Barrie's story, and "rescues Peter from drowning, when he is stranded on Marooner's Rock, unable to fly, as the tide is rising," per the Neverpedia page. "She lets him use her watertight nest as a lifeboat, enabling him to sail to the mainland."

When Owen graduated, in the early days of the Covid pandemic, the teachers and administrators from the school hit the road to hand the graduates their diplomas and other cool stuff. They gave Owen the Never Bird's wheelchair.

This season, the school performed "Matilda the Musical." You can check out a video montage here.