Treasure Island Reimagined Takes Comics Off the Page and Onto the Stage

Wepa, this is the kind of weird creative experiment I love seeing people actually attempt. Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold is taking Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate adventure, rebuilding it around Jane Hawkins and then smashing comics, live theater, radio drama and Foley performance together onstage.

Jason Neulander developed the adaptation with artist Johnny Dombrowski, colorist Lee Duhig and letterer David Hutchison. During the live show, more than 1,200 comic-book panels are projected while a cast of three performs every character voice and creates the sound effects in front of the audience. Composer Sam Lipman’s orchestral score and sound designer Buzz Moran round out the production.

The story moves the familiar adventure to 1754, where twelve-year-old Jane Hawkins is living at a seaside inn until a mysterious traveler and one very dangerous secret blow up her quiet existence. Pirates, mutiny, buried treasure and all the good stuff follow, but the presentation is where this version really separates itself.

After its September 18 world premiere at Austin’s State Theatre, the production is heading to more than twenty venues around the United States. The graphic novel is also available now, meaning audiences can experience the artwork as a book or watch those panels become part of a live performance.

I have seen comics adapted into movies, television, animation and games until the cows came home. Turning more than a thousand panels into the visual backbone of a touring stage production while actors build the voices and soundscape live? That is a different beast, and I am here for creators finding new ways to make sequential art perform.

Recommended for ages 12 and up, Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold is now available.

Readers can purchase the book, view footage from the live production, explore the creative team, and find additional information at TreasureIslandReimagined.com. Tickets for upcoming live performances are available through the individual presenting theaters and venues.