As a college student, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a strictly TYA production. And yet, despite being twenty years old, I have never giggled so much and enjoyed a kid’s show more than Kidding Around’s production of Fantastic Mr. Fox.​
 

Directed by Jeff Mitchell, the play spins author Roald Dahl’s classic story of a crafty fox trying to protect his family and outwit three nasty farmers determined to do him in for stealing their livestock. The production emphasized simplicity, whimsy, and childlike imagination, combining live music, puppetry, and an energetic, enthusiastic cast to bring the story to life.
 

Led by Peter Rosati (obviously thoroughly enjoying himself) as the exuberant Mr. Fox, the entire cast, from puppeteer to fox kid, seemed to be having the time of their lives. I especially enjoyed the over-the-top personalities of the puppet farmers. At the performance I attended, I sat beside the puppeteers (Hannah Kole, Ashley Goverman, and Corey Potter) and thoroughly enjoyed how into it they all were and how gleefully evil they made their characters. I also thoroughly enjoyed the “digging” scenes, as the Fox family burrowed into the earth to escape the farmers. Every time Mr. Fox announced that the family had to dig, the audience erupted into laughter, enjoying every moment of silliness.
 

The live band - musicians Patrick Greeley, Adam Salameh, Adrian Aiello, and Julia Alvarez, sporting pairs of fuzzy ears - also added sparkle to the personality of the production. The band and the cast really got to have fun together during the big song-and-dance number towards the end of the show. The song also gave Lorin Zackular, as Mrs. Fox, a chance to showcase her lovely voice, prompting one of her children to exclaim, “You sound just like Barbra Streisand!”
 

The most successful aspect of the show was its simplicity. Characters created scenery through their actions, animals were characterized by their ears, and imagination was a chief collaborator to build the world of the show. To allow the audience to work in tandem with the company to create the story’s pictures as they went along, Mitchell and the production team freed the  audience of 20-somethings to think like children and enjoy a sense of wonder.
 

My only small complaint is that the seating arrangement for the audience didn’t quite work. Much of the action took place in the center of the space, so the seats towards the corners of the room had some sight line issues. I spent parts of the show craning my neck to see around the people sitting near me. Figuring out seating in the Cab can be a bit difficult and depends on the spatial and design needs of each production, so I can’t really find fault. For most of the audience, sight lines didn’t seem to be too much of a problem.
 

Overall, I very much enjoyed this production of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was a fun, bright mix of music, puppetry, and magnetic energy that really appealed to the kid in all of us.

 

Fantastic Mr. Fox ran from November 29-30th, 2012 in the Cabaret.