BWW Reviews: A.D. Player's THE JUNGLE BOOK is Beautiful and Empowering

The A.D. Players is closing their 2012-2013 Children's Theater Season with a World Premiere production of Will Ledesma's adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's THE JUNGLE BOOK. The play tells the tale of young Mowgli as he comes face to face with danger in the jungles of India. On the day of the Tiger Moon, the night that the Royal Bengal Tiger Shere Khan is allowed to hunt humans, he enlists the Bandar-log, a tribe of monkeys, to kidnap Mowgli. Shere Khan also uses his influences over the Seeonee wolf pack to turn them against one another, which limits the amount of help they could provide Mowgli. Despite the perilous turmoil, Akela, the leader of the Seeonee wolf pack, Baloo, Mowgli's mentor, Bagheera, a black panther, Kaa, an Indian python, and Mowgli band together to restore order to the jungle and to protect all of those who dwell within it.

Will Ledesma's script for THE JUNGLE BOOK is a much more faithful adaption of Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli stories than the popular 1967 animated film musical produced by Disney. Moreover, Will Ledesma's script emphases the empowering value of communal and familial bonds, even if one is not like those they claim as family.

Kevin Dean and Chip Simmons expertly direct the cast to richly infuse their anthropomorphic characters with noticeable and discernable aspects of the animals they represent. Much like Julie Taymor's cast for THE LION KING really imbue their performances with realistic animalism, the same can be said for the varied poises and movements of this skilled cast. Moreover, under their direction, the plot moves at a comfortable pace that easily entertains the audience throughout the intermission-less 63-minute production.

Fight Choreography by Jeff McMorrough is very well done, and executed beautifully. Every member of the audience understands what is happening without it being overly graphic, dramatic, or violent. We see the intense struggle for power and even life, without it being too much for the children in the audience to handle.

As Mowgli, Braden Hunt is superbly athletic and agile. He leaps around the stage, clearly showing how each animal who has helped raise him has influenced his movement, thoughts, and nimbleness. He mimics animalistic movements from Baloo, Bagheera, and Akela with dexterity, which often elicits mirthful laughter from the children in the audience. As the hero of the show, the audience roots for him from beginning to end as well.

Justin Cook's Baloo is wise and fantastically knowledgeable. He is the keeper of the law within the society of the jungle, and must remember and understand all of the rules and the consequences for not following them appropriately. Justin Cook's Baloo does this with energy and pizzazz, often overreacting to things and making the children beam and glow as they smile and giggle.

As Bagheera, Katherine Hatcher creates a character that is nurturing and fiercely protective of Mowgli and her friends. She skillfully adapts cat like mannerisms as she slinks around the stage, often on all fours. Also, she expertly utilizes a feline inspired intonation in her vocal performance.

Stephen Hurst's Shere Khan is appropriately menacing, but not so evil to scare children. In addition to creating a calculating villain, he also infuses swift movements in his characterization that invoke the idea of a large jungle cat.

Blake Weir masterfully portrays Akela, utilizing tangible notions of loyalty and stances that are both militaristic and wolfish at the same time. His howls are perfectly delivered and evocative. As the plot progresses, his performance ensures that audiences understand how important Akela is to Mowgli through being a sincere, kind, and trustworthy father figure for the "man cub."

Kelsey Cratty, who adeptly draws out syllables in her vocal inflection to complete the character, pristinely plays Kaa. Also, her costume requires her to puppeteer the eyes, tongue, and tail. She handles each element of the costume extremely well, creating a lifelike image of a snake on the stage.

Travis Hayes brings sniveling and slimy life to Tabaqui. His nasal and annoying vocal tonality perfectly matches the annoying qualities of the character who cares not who he hurts to obtain what he desires.

Megan Jackson, Jesse Merrill, Travis Hayes, and Blake Weir play the band of monkeys and wolves. Here, Megan Jackson and Jesse Merrill really shine as they are constantly at the forefront in these scenes. They are adroitly animated, athletic, and very comedic in their portrayals.

Robin Gillock's Scenic Design is fantastic. He captures the look of the jungle and works in the appearance of ruins to cleverly add levels to the stage. Also, his two central trees that the cast climbs all over and amazing for being so sturdy while being able to more-or-less serve as a gymnasium for the cast.

Sound Design by Orlando Arriaga is wonderful. I really appreciated the muted jungle sounds that played in the background, adding a layer of realism to the performance. I also was fascinated by the sounds used to show how Mowgli learned the different dialects of the jungle inhabitants.

Mark A. Lewis's Lighting Design tremendously uses bright and glowing colors to bring life to the jungle. His washes of greens, oranges, and ambers, look marvelous against the set and help the audience differentiate between locations within the jungle. His Tiger Moon effect is remarkable and chilling.

Using a noticeable and laudable influence from Indian fashion and culture, Donna Southern Schmidt has crafted and created gorgeous and sumptuous costumes for the cast to wear. As a fan of Indian culture myself, I was mesmerized and impressed with how authentic many of the costumes appeared.

Trisha Wise created great props for the production. My favorites were the ribs given to Tabaqui by Shere Khan and the torch used by Mowgli.

The A.D. Players have done an incredible job with their production of THE JUNGLE BOOK. The script, cast, and crew all delightfully show off their talents and make the performance one that is fun for both adults and children to enjoy. Perhaps the most memorable thing about the production is how visually beautiful it is, with the actors keenly imitating animals, the set being so stunning, the striking and gorgeous costumes, the emotive and lush lights. All of these elements, and the others too, click together to form a wonderful theatrical event.

The A.D. Players beautiful and empowering World Premiere production of THE JUNGLE BOOK only runs for one more week. The production closes on May 4, 2013. For more information or tickets please visit http://www.adplayers.org or call (713) 526 - 2721.

All photos by Bara Photography. Courtesy of A.D. Players.

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