‘Junie B.’ is long, but appealing
“Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business” Theatre of Youth’s new production (a reprise from 2005-2006), has some appealing qualities. It also has some challenges, some of which may matter to its target audience, 4-to 10-year-olds and their families.
First, the appealing bits.
Director and choreographer Michael J. Walline knows his way around a musical. Adults playing kids can be tough to pull off; there’s a fine line between cute and inappropriate. He straddles it well. There is a little hip-swiveling, but it comes across as innocent and apropos.
Reprising the role of Junie B., Leah Russo is in the zone. Her voice is strong, her energy high. And, whether you love or hate the character — with her unapologetic, stream-of-consciousness insults, strong competitive streak, angst, and self-aggrandizement — she is cute.
There are several leaps required in terms of kids’ behavior, however. For example, though Junie B. is still in kindergarten, she knows her grandparents’ phone number and dials it herself.
Aptly conveyed is a nice sense of how bizarre many adult-world things seem to kids. I loved the freeze-frame concept: a single bell-ding, a square-shaped spotlight, and Junie B. explaining to the audience her perceptions of various phrases and concepts that adults use with her.
Playwright Joan Cushing brings in the sense of wordplay found in Barbara Park’s book series, and it is often funny, though I can’t imagine kids getting all the jokes.
The plot revolves around Junie B.’s two anxieties: 1) her mother’s having a baby, which will rival her supremacy in the household, and 2) she’s got to figure out what to do for “show-and-tell” that will best her classmates’ efforts.
The set is a delight. Kenneth Shaw, TOY’s head of design, did a masterful job of creating a charming world — a life-sized dollhouse that you want to play in. It features a giant slide, a Van Gogh-inspired bedroom for Junie B., and a sparkly pink shower curtain in her grandparents’ bathroom.
Now, the production’s challenges. For starters, with intermission, the show runs almost two hours. That’s a long time to ask children to sit still, and take in everything that’s going on up on stage. For the steadfast and committed, there is also a Q&A session at the end.
The musical numbers with multiple singers are difficult to hear — the recorded music accompanying live singing is not the best quality; the higher ranges coming across tinny.
Out of the six cast members, two have really strong voices (Russo and Nicole Marrale Cimato, who plays both Junie’s mother and her friend Lucille). The result is a fading chorale sound.
Despite these challenges, there is plenty to recommend this production. It is, as Junie B. says about kindergarten, “a place to not watch TV” — and that’s a very good thing.
Theater Review
“Junie B. Jones& A Little Monkey Business”
★★★
Musical comedy presented by the Theatre of Youth through Nov. 1 in the Allendale Theatre, 203 Allen St. For information, call 884-4400 or visit www.theaterofyouth.org.
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