the boy who stole the stars

"It steals the audience and steals hearts," wrote a critic when this warm and moving play opened at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. A young boy discovers his grandfather is dying. The old man's behavior is different; he's short-tempered and no longer tells his wonderful stories. The boy enlists the grandfather's aid in helping him with a school project—counting the stars. Their togetherness seems to renew the old man's interest and he begins telling stories, one of them about the dragon in the sky. The dragon, he explains, is there to guard the stars. An old legend says that should the stars be returned to earth; it would mean a new paradise with no unhappiness, no death. Hearing this, the boy goes off to slay the dragon and return the stars to earth, seeking a means of keeping his grandfather from dying. At play's end, the youngster comes to understand how important he is to his grandfather. "I don't need to live forever," says the old man. "I need you. I need you to care about me."