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Santa
Barbara's FIRST Annual Traditional Family Panto
- A wonderful success!
'Jack'
was our debut presentation for the 1999-2000 holiday season.
A world
class professional production, it was extremely well received and
thouroughly enjoyed by 3,000 people. Sold out performances, excellent
critical response and many, many very happy children - it cut across
cultural boundaries and reaffirmed the appetite for this annual
tradition.
"Jack
the Lad"
- Duncan Wright, The Independent
Having grown
up in England, and even appeared in a panto (as "Buttons" in Cinderella),
I know something of the form. But in the intervening years, I had
forgotten just how bad the jokes were, and yet somehow what great,
silly fun the pantomime tradition really is.
Panto Productions'
brave attempt at bringing Jack and the Beanstalk to an American
audience - even a forgiving Santa Barbara one - was a gamble that
paid off with high ticket sales and performance hits, and only a
couple of misses. The show scored well with the children, alternately
frightening them (Wesley John's lively Demon King was exaggeratedly
impressive, Moti Buchboot's Giant was huge and booming), inviting
them to join in (David Glick's Simple Simon coached screaming replies
from eager infants), and making them giggle at the slapstick antics
of Dame Trot (Christopher Blake), Snatchit and Grabbit, (Craig Mulgrew
and William Yorke Hyde), and the Fairy Queen (Emma Jane Huerta).
For the
suffering parents - dealing with the emotional fluctuations caused
by the high-energy show - there was plenty of nudge-nudge double
entendre and hilarious campery, mostly from the Dame, who was, and
is traditionally, the comic center of the show.
If it is
not too ungracious to point out problems with this first American
pantomime, it might be observed that there were too many lagging
segues, a couple of songs and one child's dance scene too many (although
the five little "beans" were absolutely enchanting), and at over
two hours, the production was about 30 minutes too long for parents
and children both.
We must
raise a cheer for Karin delaPena, for conceiving and directing the
show, then jumping out of the director's chair to play "Principal
Boy" Jack at the 11th hour when her actress was unable to continue-
she must have been exhausted, and did a thoroughly professional
and multi-skilled job of singing, dancing, and acting. But one final
observation I must share: The Principal Boy, though always played
by an attractive woman, needs to be defined as a lad in traditionally
signified ways - in bold, hearty gesture, rousing, chipper exclamation,
and in attire. DelaPena's spike heels (and well-turned legs) and
bouffed hair distorted the traditional balance in ways that probably
confused the little tykes - and certainly distracted me.
'Jack'
panto a child's delight
- Tom Jacobs, Santa Barbara News Press
For some
theatergoers - namely, those under 6 years of age - the very best
plays are those in which you get to cheer the hero, hiss at the
villain and scream "Look out - behind you!" when a blissfully oblivious
man is about to be mauled by a menacing monster.
"Jack and
the Beanstalk - The Panto" is such a play.
The production,
which continues at the Lobero Theater through Sunday, is apparently
the first time this decidedly populist British art form has turned
up in Santa Barbara. It makes for an enjoyably unhackneyed piece
of holiday entertainment, as well as a fine introduction to live
theater for the Teletubbies set.
Pantos,
which are a holiday tradition in England, are irreverent retellings
of familiar fairy tales. There are songs and dances, (ranging in
style from music hall to tap to ballet), plenty of puns, (visual
and verbal), numerous comic set pieces and lots of audience interaction.
There are also more than a few risqué asides and topical jokes,
no doubt thrown in to entertain the parents. (A handful of Santa
Barbara-specific references have been interpolated into the material;
a few more would have been welcome.)
Following
panto tradition, the comic lead (Christopher Blake) is a man in
a woman's role (Jack's beleaguered mother). Jack, in turn, is played
by a woman - producer Karin delaPena, who stepped in at short notice
after the original actress had a family emergency. The actor in
drag, of course, a staple of British humor. But why have a woman
in high heels and black fishnet stockings portray a young man? The
point of that particular convention - not to mention the intended
effect - eludes me.
This "Jack
and the Beanstalk," written by John Moffatt, enlarges the original
story, adding a number of characters. Aside from Jack, his mum and
the giant (Moti Buchboot), there is the landlord, his two helpers,
Jack's girlfriend, Jack's girlfriend's other suitor, and on and
on. No one is on stage for too terribly long; most do their comic
bits (some relevant to the plot, many not) and then get off.
It's difficult
to judge the quality of the production, since the show is supposed
to have a slapdash feel. One can safely predict there will not be
a cast album; these performers were picked for their acting ability
rather than their singing skills.
And there
are, indeed, some fine performances, under the direction of stage
veteran Michael Ashton. As Simple Simon, David Glick really connects
with the young audience. Wesley John has a lot of energy and a dancer's
moves as the Demon King.
As Jack's
mother, Christopher Blake - a veteran English actor imported for
this production - sometimes comes across as a forgotten member of
the Monty Python troupe. That is very much a compliment. A Julia
Child-like baking exhibition (don't try to find a connection to
the plot-there isn't any) becomes a tour de force for him and Glick.
Theodore
Michael Dolas' Impressionist landscape backdrops are whimsical and
attractive; Janet Doran-Veveers' costumes are certainly colorful.
Konrad Kono provides the spirited musical direction.
At nearly
2 and a half hours, the show feels a little long. But the many children
in the Lobero Theater audience Monday afternoon seemed enchanted
pretty much the whole way through. Hey - there's a dancing cow.
What more can you ask for?
Copyright©
1999-2001, Grace & Competra. All rights reserved.
(805) 682-7543
· P.O.Box 1496, Santa Barbara, CA 93102
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