BWW Reviews: Imaginary Beasts Winter Panto: A Frog Prince Worthy of a Kiss

Kerplop! The Tale of the Frog Prince

Directed & Conceived by Matthew Woods, Written by Matthew Woods & The Ensemble; Costume Design, Cotton Talbot-Minkin; Lighting Design, Christopher Bocchiaro; Set Design, Candido Soares & Matthew Woods; Sound Design, Deirdre Benson & Matthew Woods; Choreography by Cameron Cronin, Kiki Samko, Joey Pelletier & the Ensemble; Puppet Design & Construction by Elizabeth Pearson & Jill Rogati; Stage Manager, Deirdre Benson

CAST (in order of appearance): Kiki Samko, Matthew Woods, William Schuller, Amy Meyer, Molly Kimmerling, Noah Simes, Bob Mussett, Audrey Lynn Sylvia, Lizette Morris, Joey Pelletier, Mikey DiLoreto, Cameron Cronin, Michael Chodos, Michael Underhill, Elizabeth Pearson, Erin Eva Butcher

Performances through February 7 by Imaginary Beasts at The Boston Center for the Arts, Plaza Black Box Theatre, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-933-8600 or www.imaginarybeasts.org

Matthew Woods and his Imaginary Beasts are back with their annual Winter Panto: Kerplop! The Tale of the Frog Prince, tickling the funny bones of the many children in the audience, while going over their heads to engage the adults who are along for the ride. While avoiding being preachy, the story is heavily weighted in favor of "the good, right, and true," and in its epic battles between heroes and villains, the good guys always win, thanks to loud vocal support from the littlest ones in attendance.

Involving the members of the audience is de rigueur in the world of Panto (short for Pantomime), a well-loved British theatrical tradition that blends comedy, song-and-dance, groan-worthy puns, and more than a little cross-dressing. Imaginary Beasts has been the local purveyor of the art form for nearly a decade and the ensemble is a good mix of veterans and newbies, keeping the performances on track and fresh. The actors have to be on their toes to deal with the challenges tossed at them, such as an especially enthusiastic boy seated in the front row at the Saturday matinee. Improv skills come into play, but everyone rolls with the punches and looks like they're having fun.

Woods is the man-behind-the-curtain (direction, concept, writer, set, and sound), as well as one of the women in the troupe. He plays the gorgeously green villainess Aquanetta, a wicked water nymph trying to annex the Kingdom of Little Puddle, ruled by Her Majesty, the Queen (Joey Pelletier), before Princess Aurelia (Erin Eva Butcher) can marry Prince Friedrich (Elizabeth Pearson) to save the day. Aquanetta plots with her son Wart the Water Troll (William Schuller) and henchslug Leech (Michael Chodos, appropriately slimy)) to turn the Prince into a frog and poison the Kingdom's water supply. The storyline follows the basics of the classic tale, with the frog retrieving the Princess' precious golden ball from a well in return for an invitation to the palace, knowing that only her kiss can restore him to his former persona. Freddy's friends and allies number a long list: Old Mother Schnell (Kiki Samko, channeling Gilda Radner as Emily Litella), Zip the Dragonfly (Amy Meyer), Good Fairy (Molly Kimmerling), Sir Heinrich (Michael Underhill), and the Bullfrog named (wait for it) Jeremiah (Noah Simes).

Pelletier is delightful in drag as the Royal Dame (and wears, arguably, the best of Cotton Talbot-Minkin's fabulous costumes) and rules her denizens (Bob Mussett, Audrey Lynn Sylvia, Lizette Morris) with a velvet fist. When the urgency of marrying off the Princess is foretold by The Oracle (Simes), the Queen brings in a purported makeover maestro, Le Grand Moustache (hilariously played by Cameron Cronin) and his trusty Marxist (as in Harpo) skunk Coco (Mikey DiLoreto) to convert Aurelia from wild child to blushing bride.

Kerplop! runs well over two hours with an intermission, but it moves along at a jaunty pace and holds the attention of even the youngest ticket holders. The players break the fourth wall to beseech the audience to cheer or boo-hiss-boo, as warranted, but never talk down to the kids. Musical interludes (including a lovely rendition of "Smile" by Butcher) and dancing (the frog ballet is worth the price of admission) are met with recognition and appreciation by the grown-ups, and everyone gets to sing along on the finale - what else? - "Joy to the World." That's also a pretty good way to describe the mission of Imaginary Beasts.

Photo credit: Michael Underhill and Cam Cronin (Elizabeth Pearson, Erin Eva Butcher, Michael Underhill)

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