Jack Joyner

Kidsplay ‘Doctor’ delivers two shots to the funny bone

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By John Lyle Belden

Is there a doctor in the house? Several, actually, but they’re not even in high school yet. KidsPlay Inc. presents “The Doctor is In,” a pair of hilarious one-acts dealing with the sillier side of medicine.

Greenfield-based KidsPlay is a non-profit theatre opportunity for kids in third through eighth grade at no charge to them. Founder Christine Schaefer and director Amy Studabaker maintain a high performance standard so you don’t have to be related to a child to appreciate the show – besides, siblings and parents are often busy as crew, concessions, etc.

The show opens, per tradition, with a tap routine to a big band hit (with a twist) by Trinity Bricker, Evalynn Connelly, Chloe Elkins, Abby Marler, Josie McConnell, Nora Smith, Aria Studabaker, and Kyndall Watkins, choreographed by Frances Hull.

In Act I, “Understanding Your Pet with Dr. Marla Brett,” by Andrew Frodahl, Abby Kaucher plays the title doc like she’s the Taylor Swift of Veterinary Science, complete with best-selling book. She arrives at the clinic of starstruck Dr. Linkester (Chloe Elkins) and overworked, under-coffeed Vet Tech Dalaney (Kyndall Watkins), to test a new treatment on their patients – or to be precise, the animals’ owners. The pills give insight into what’s up with their critters, but, naturally there are side effects.

The pet people include a Senator (Anthony Stunda) and his aide (Molly Wallace), a chicken farmer (Elliott Holmes), a totally tubular turtle dude (Asher Ortman), a very sore beekeeper (Abby Marler) and an exterminator (Spencer Pipkin) who wants to get into the minds of his adversary. Other roles are by Bricker, Smith, Ellie Stearns, Audra Speicher, and Everett Sumpter. Finally, Federal Agents, played by Oliver Lederman and Tanner Pipkin, crash the party looking like miniature Blues Brothers. So much fun to be had here, especially with Stunda embracing his wild side, and Watkins shines as the only character acting relatively professional in the entire office.

Act II combines three fear factors into a single farce, “Attack of the Clown Dentist Zombies,” by Scott Haan (who was pleased after seeing a dress rehearsal). Dr. Todd Hanover (Charles Wallace) wants local dentists to find a way to keep their patients at ease, but first, let’s all have some of these mysteriously glowing cookies that Mrs. Hoffenbridle (Josie McConnell) made.

Steadfast in their refusal of baked goods, cynical throughout, and heroes by default are Dr. Hanover’s children, Xander and Susan (Reid Connors and Aria Studabaker), showing great stage presence even while dodging the zombified dentists and their victims: Essie Ortman, Sawyer Froman, Elliott Holmes, Kayte Reasoner, Asher Ortman, Ellie Raney, Everett Sumpter, Ellie Stearns, and Jack Joyner. Looks like it could be up to the town eccentric, Crazy Amy (Bella Ladrik), to save the day.

As is the case with the spring KidsPlay show, the eighth-grade performers “graduate” as they move on to high school and area Young Artist productions. This year’s group are Chloe Elkins, Abby Kaucher, Anthony Stunda, and Charles Wallace. They are off to a great start for whatever stage they aspire to.

Being an all-volunteer organization, KidsPlay keeps tickets at just five dollars each to see “The Doctor is In,” Friday through Sunday (April 19-21) only at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. (US 40) in downtown Greenfield. Presale tickets available at Hometown Comics & Games, 1040 N. State St., also in Greenfield.  

KidsPlay gets the “facts” on legendary tale

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By John Lyle Belden

When your happily ever after isn’t going so well, or otherwise you’re at your cottage during the day, you tune into what’s happening on the Fairy Tale Network. And in the spirit of those non-magical folk who obsess over celebrity and true crime stories, you get the eyewitness accounts of Real Talk with Fairy Tale Legends.

This is the set of “The Snow White Variety Show,” by Brian Taylore, presented by KidsPlay Inc., the Greenfield-based program for young performers in grades 3-8. Directed by founder Christine Schaefer and Amy Studabaker, with choreography by Frances Hull and stage-managed by Blair Connelly and Ethan Stearns, once again we get a fairly polished and professional production, giving us a glimpse of real budding talent mixed in with youthful exuberance, giving a show that you don’t have to be related to one of the cast to enjoy.

Our Announcer (Anthony Stunda) introduces “Real Talk…”, hosted by Heidi Perbole (Ellie Stearns), who is eager to get the Grimm truth about Snow White. Seven dwarves are on hand to tell what really happened – not the seven you’ve heard of, we get Wordy (Nora Smith), Rowdy (Reid Connors), Nerdy (Charles Wallace), Weepy (Aria Studabaker), Creepy (Everett Sumpter), Howdy (Alexandria Ellis), and Bob (Asher Ortman). As is routine with “true crime” TV, all the scenes are presented on stage by reenactors, giving us characters including Snow’s parents (Kayte Reasoner and Ben Erwin), the Evil Queen (Chloe Elkins), The Huntsman (Jack Joyner), the Magic Mirror (Audra Speicher), and Snow White herself (Reese Weitekamp). As each dwarf relates a part of the story, in his or her own quirky way, the “actors” perform it in the same manner – Wordy’s bits are verbose, for instance, while Howdy’s has a cowboy flavor.

Even mythical folk have to pay the bills, so the broadcast is peppered with commercials for things like the Big Bad Wolf’s (Carter Pipkin) house-flipping business, Rumpelstiltskin’s (Nora Jeter) gold investments, or Cinder-sella (Kyndall Watkins) offering you a great price on a new or used carriage (deals end at midnight). KidsPlay has posters by these “advertisers” for auction in the theater lobby.

This enchanted set also has appearances by Tanner Pipkin, Elliott Holms, Molly Wallace, Amelia Melby, Sawyer Erwin, Addalyn Torres, Abilene Kaucher, Spencer Pipkin, Essie Ortman, and Josie McConnell, in various roles.

A funny and charming fresh take on a familiar story, with twists you may not expect, performances are this weekend only, Nov. 10-12 at H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. (US 40) in downtown Greenfield. Tickets are still only $5 each. See info and pictures by searching “KidsPlay” on Facebook.

KidsPlay: Ghoulish giggles at ‘Gravestone Manor’

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By John Lyle Belden

We have always found it fun and fascinating to see the rising talent in local youth theatre programs. Even if we don’t see the kids return to area stages as they age, it’s good to know they can take the skills and confidence they learn to use wherever life takes them.

But for now, let’s indulge in some Halloween-in-April fun in Greenfield with the KidsPlay Inc. production of “Gravestone Manor” by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus. Directed by Christine Schaefer and Jeff Pipkin, the cast of third-through-eighth graders smartly deliver a set of scenes with spooky themes which are far more silly than scary.

After KidsPlay’s traditional dance opening, our Ghost Host, Griffin (Anthony Stunda), delivers the “boom-flash” as he introduces the sketches while struggling with minor issues like lights, sound, costumes, and props. 

The show starts off strong with a pair of girls (Ellie Stearns and Kyndall Watkins) trying to escape a haunted house while a cursed object literally brings out the best and worst of their personalities, to hilarious effect. Next, a “normal” meet-the-family dinner is complicated by Luna’s (Reese Weitekamp) clan of domesticated werewolves, especially brother and obedience-school dropout Bane (Jackson Martinez). 

Then we tune into Transylvania TV, as our undead host Blinky McQueen (Riley Lederman) sets up a date for a boy (Brady Diehl) with the most frightening monstrosity a tween can suffer. The bachelorettes – vampire Sarafina (Aria Studabaker), banshee Aisling (Callie Smith), and “hex practitioner” Tabitha (Molly Wallace) – would fit right in a grown-up “reality” version.

In the next bit, Studabaker returns as a girl taking applications for the monster under her bed. Could it be the ogre (Diehl) feeling obligated to speak in a Scottish accent, or perhaps the goblin (Liam Walker) with a compulsion to talk in rhyme? There’s always the clownish phantom (Spencer Pipkin), or zombie Pete (Carter Pipkin), who also shows up later at the support group “Monsters ‘R’ Us.” At that gathering, led by Lederman as another batty vampire, various characters come to grips with their ilk not being as scary in this otherwise frightening modern world. Cursed mummy Hotep (Everett Sumpter) is taking it especially hard. 

The show closes with a return to the fact that the most frightening thing in the world is the adolescent mind, featuring Adrienne Romberg as the frontal-lobe supervisor and Jack Joyner as the synapse that decides to turn his powers of disruption to heroic ends.

The cast also includes Joe McCoy, Amelia Melby, Nora Smith, Charlotte Sumpter, Olivia Turpin, and Charles Wallace. Stage managers are Blair Connelly and Alec Cole. Choreography by Frances Hull.

As usual, you don’t have to be related to one of the kids to enjoy their performance. A long rehearsal schedule and Schaefer’s ability to get the most out of young performers ensure excellent execution of comic timing and crisp delivery of lines, enhanced by the energy and fun-spiritedness of youth.

Finally, we give a shout-out to the eighth-grade “graduates” who are aging out of the KidsPlay program: Brady Deihl, Riley Lederman, Adrienne Romberg, and Charlotte Sumpter.

Performances of “Gravestone Manor” are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (April 21-23) at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. (US 40) in Greenfield. Tickets are just $5 each at the door.

Kids make a splash in KidsPlay’s ‘Mermaid in Miami’

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By John Lyle Belden

Being a former writer and “Arts Editor” at the Daily Reporter in Greenfield, I have long followed and been a booster of KidsPlay Inc., the local children’s theatre featuring kids in grades 3-8 from all over the area. Under the direction of Christine Schaefer, the company puts on a high-quality show, and has helped to develop a lot of talent – a number of central Indiana performers are former KidsPlayers, and now there are alumni with their own children in the program.

Of course, I bring this up because this week is the KidsPlay Inc. fall production, the quirky comedy “Mermaid in Miami” by Wade Bradford. Directed by Schaefer with Alexandra Kern, choreography by Frances Hull and Amy Studebaker, this take on “The Little Mermaid” has a contemporary setting, yet is in a surprising way true to the Hans Christian Andersen story.

An old fisherman, Ernie (Joseph Shininger), happens to come across a young mermaid, Breeze (Olivia Greer), on the run from her tyrannical father Emperor Tropico (Matthew Hentz). As she had escaped with her mother, now missing, the angry monarch asks Ernie if he has seen two mermaids, so he honestly answers “no,” helping Breeze to escape. Grateful, she stays in the safety of the lagoon the fisherman calls home, located just a beach away from Miami, Florida.

Meanwhile, on that beach, hot Latin dancer Rico (Jaxon Brittsan) is ready for the local dance contest, he just needs a partner. The Lambada sisters (Zora Coe and Ashley Pipkin) are injured, and best friend Grace (Ella Miesse) he only sees as his tailor. But hearing of the opportunity, Breeze makes a deal with the Swamp Hag (Bella Turner) for legs so he can join Rico in the dance.

Naturally, those legs come at a cost.

The large cast also includes Anthony Stunda and Josie Joyner as dolphins Ebb and Flo, who provide a lot of the punchlines; Brodie Stout-England as Prince Dorkus, the Emperor’s goofy hand-picked fiance for Breeze; Jordan Kuker as the mysterious Spirit of the Air; Hank Lee and Ava Peters as local reporters; Abbagail Gantt and Cooper Schmitt as vendors with well-timed wares; and Jack Joyner, Grace McCaw, and Lucy Reed, as an entertaining trio of crabs.

This show has excellent performances throughout. Greer shows off some great physical comedy, as she nimbly portrays a wobbly girl who just got her legs minutes ago, right through the obligatory dance montage where she learns to move with rhythm.

Turner is appropriately menacing, and manages to keep a Caribbean accent without it slipping into caricature. Hentz is naturally haughty, while Shininger plays a good go-with-the-flow guy. Miesse stitches together a role with surprising range. Stout-England is too much of a doofus to dislike, despite his role in Tropico’s plot.

Brittsan not only manages to stay likable even while being a bit cheesey, but also he, Coe and Pipkin show off some genuine dance flair, including leading the traditional opening dance number before the play.

As usual, this show is a lot of fun, but there is some substance with the silly, especially in the way this story ends. Performances are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8-10, at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. (US 40) in downtown Greenfield. Tickets are just $5 at the door.