Adventure Theatre’s production of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse hits new heights of exuberant energy and hilarity thanks to winning combinations of a fun loving cast featuring Felicia Curry in the title role, and zany artistry of director Nick Olcott who has a delectable take on all the humor, every single energetic drop of it.
Olcott’s all out direction fits the story’s crazy pace, and he maintains an energetic flow throughout. No matter how fast the action zips along, and man, does it zoom! Nothing feels forced, out of place or superficial thanks to Olcott’s steady command of all the beats. Everything feels so real. The entire show has an undercurrent of explosive yet contained energy and authenticity much of which can be attributed to Felicia Curry’s performance. She is simply a whirling, irrepressible bundle of joy.
On top of all that, Olcott infuses the production with a lovely sense of wonder.
As Lilly, Curry hits the ground running, literally, and doesn’t stop. After some false starts, she befriends two best buds, Chester and Wilson, played with fun and realism by S. Lewis Feemster and Elliott Kashner, becoming the third amigo in a one-for- all kind of pact. Whether it’s sharing lunches, playing after school, or hilariously riding their bicycles, mounting and speeding along with handle bars depicting their trusty riders, their relationships feel genuine. Their scary encounter with the “big kids” is a perfect depiction of what it feels like being cornered, and surpassing one’s fear to help a struggling friend.
Olcott’s kid-friendly handiwork can be seen in Troy Jennings’ adorable portrayal of little brother Julius who Lilly can barely tolerate. That’s especially true when she’s dealing with her own drama of taking her gorgeous plastic purple purse to school and getting in trouble with her beloved teacher, Mr. Slinger, played winningly by Robbie Gay.
As Lilly, Curry zips through a kaleidoscope of a precocious youngster’s temperament with perfect ease, experiencing the world through her own self-centered perspective until she unwittingly finds herself feeling protective of little Julius when he is taunted. She’s also heartsick about her impetuous fury at her teacher for confiscating her purse after discovering the treats and the encouraging note he left inside for her. Curry handles all of the emotional transitions with such heart-felt tenderness it warrants repeat visits just to marvel at how she does it.
Ingenious set design by Joseph Musumeci works with lighting designer Brian Allard to create all kinds of moods, from raucous scenes of delirious fun to somber moments of Lilly’s dreaded time in the “Un-cooperative” chair for misbehaving. Oh, how the seconds feel like hours in kid’s time, and the direction is superb in getting that across, along with the perfectly designed chair that folds into and out of the scene as needed.
Sound designer Neil McFadden helps the cast bust a move with funky movements throughout the show as coached by Karen Abromaitis.
Yes, they’re all supposed to be mice, but what’s not to love about a bunch of rodents learning how to live in a community, becoming self-aware, discovering how to live with each other in caring, respectful relationships, and ending with the finale song—“Tomorrow Will Be A Better Day.” Being drawn into Lilly’s madcap world is the perfect place to be reminded of the time-honored life lessons, while enjoying her antics with her gorgeous purple plastic purse.
Lilly’s Plastic Purse runs thru Oct 31, 2011 at Adventure Theatre, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, (Glen Echo Park), Glen Echo, MD.
Details
Tickets
Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
Based on the book by Kevin Henkes
Adapted for the stage by Kevin Kling
Directed by Nick Olcott
Produced by Adventure Theatre
Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson
Running time: 1 hour and fifteen minutes with no intermission
Rating of the show: Highly Recommended
- Lilly Molloy . OurKids
- Julia Exline . MDTheatreGuide
I have to say that I completely disagree with Adele. Full disclosure – I am friend’s with several people in the cast. Having said that, I honestly thought that this was a fantastic show and very appropriate for children. The story is about a young mouse learning that life doesn’t revolve around her and that she has to treat everyone with respect and love. There are no “bad words” in this production nor is there violence. Adele – if you believe that words like “Lump” and “Zero” are bad, I’m afraid your child will hear much worse in his or her future. Lily struggles in the play with her feelings about her little brother – feelings I’m sure many children share. But the end result is that Lily comes to Julius’ defense and learns to love him. How is that message harmful to children? Yes, Lily uses water guns to scare off bullies, but what exactly is so shocking or inappropriate about that? Are children not allowed to play with super soakers any more?
More than anything, what disappoints me the most about Adele’s comments are in this statement: “simply putting those words in a child’s head is sad.” This statement seems to indicate this widespread notion in 21st Century parenting where children are treated like precious little eggs that can be easily broken by the slightest disturbance. Children can’t live in protective cocoons. They should be exposed to difficult issues in responsible ways. They should be challenged. We should strive as parents, educators and artists to raise their expectations, not pander to the lowest common denominator. I applaud Adventure Theatre and all the artists who worked very hard to bring Lily to life. I urge everyone to go see this production. It’s outstanding.
I took my theater-loving daughter to this today, and was highly displeased. The acting, set, and production were very high quality, as I’ve begun to expect from Adventure theater, but the script was very inappropriate for small children. I did appreciate that the issues worked themselves out in the end, but watching bad behavior and hearing bad words always stays with a child. The main character Lily refers to her newborn baby brother as a lump, zero, a nothing, and wants him to disappear and send him to outer space. She says she hates him, and tries to physically harm him. When the baby brother turns into the teacher in a daydream, it is portrayed that he whips or hits students across the back with his baby rattle several times making them repeat letters. Lilly is disguised as a cat at one point, yielding large super soaker water guns so scare the older kids away that are physically pushing the younger characters. Guns, no matter the form, have no place on the stage where small children are invited. The bullies had the overt appearances of piercings and clothing that I wouldn’t want my daughter to assimilate with bad behaved bullies. Lilly exclaims that she never EVER wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Yes, it does resolve in the end, but simply putting those words through a child’s head is sad.
I don’t expect theater to always be 100% ‘clean’, but there were just so many things, over and over again, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who didn’t want my child to hear or see some of what went on.
I’m sure there are other instances I’m forgetting at the moment, but I’m very glad I didn’t bring my friends, and I’ll tell them to not go. I do plan on going to Adventure Theatre again for their other productions and I love the high-quality work, but the story and script chosen this time was unfortunate.