Review: ELEPHANT & PIGGIE: WE ARE IN A PLAY: THE MUSICAL is 'unpossible' to not love!

What? Not like ELEPHANT & PIGGIE'S WE ARE IN A PLAY? "Unpossible!" This is the cute, cute, cutest production to come out of the Rose Theater in a long time. Everything about it is delightful!

Written by Mo Willems, prolific children's author of the popular "Elephant & Piggie" picture book series, and set to music by Deborah Wicks La Puma, I feel sure that this musical will appeal to everyone from toddler to grandparent.

Gerald the elephant (Will Nash Broyles) and Piggie (Olivia Jones) are best buddies even though they couldn't be more different. Gerald is big and gray, and he can't dance. Piggie is small and pink, and she can't blow a trumpet. But they find ways to connect. They overlook---no, they celebrate each other's differences, and they stick together through thick and thin.

This clever script incorporates several of Mo Willems' stories. Each story has its own crisis point. Gerald's and Piggie's crises are simple: what to wear to a party, how to share when you really want to keep it all, and how to get over a new toy your friend has broken. Each problem brings conflict resolution with a sweet moral to the story. Each problem also brings hilarity.

Michael Miller directs and Ashley Durst provides the brilliant choreography to this fast-paced, lots-of-movement-within-60-minutes-show. Songs often refer to productions well known by adults, making it a subtle game we can enjoy while the kids appreciate the silliness of it all. Piggie dons a black leather jacket and the Squirrelles wear pink satin in a nod to Grease (is she then a greased pig?) themed number, "Toy Breaker." The Squirrelles and Gerald become rocker Guitar Heroes in "Ice Cream Hero." Elephant and Piggie hold a "Best Off" in a stereotypical western gunfighter scene.

No matter what Elephant and Piggie are up to, the Squirrelles (Joshua Lloyd Parker, Ann Stergiou, and Katy Kepler) are not outdone. These zany characters are constantly cutting up, drawing snorts and squeals from the young audience.

In Mo Willems' books, conversation takes place in comment bubbles that are color-coded to the character speaking. Chris DePriest designed the set to echo those colors and book covers, and threw in a slough of pieces that are rolled on and off stage, lowered from the ceiling, and constantly moving, generally at the hands of the Squirrelles. A walkway extends out toward the audience. A costume rack, filled with costumes used in prior Rose Theater shows and wacky outfits designed by Erin Bragg, insinuates we can be who we want to be. The more outrageous, the more fun! And not to be overlooked, Todd Brooks and Martin Magnuson provide top-notch musical direction and sound, while Katie Gruenhagen designed the lighting. All of it works together to form a smorgasbord for the eyes and ears.

Just as the set pieces and costumes are not confined to those belonging to this show, Elephant and Piggie and their cohorts don't confine themselves to the stage. They come out onto the floor. They interact with the stage manager and the audience. They coerce audience participation, problem solving, and approval. They invite us to play.

This five-person cast is impressive. They represent Mo Willems' characters to perfection. Voices are great; acting is superb. This will be one production that you will not soon forget.

The show runs through May 8. Fridays at 7:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 and 5:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm. And while you are checking out the show, check out the books!

Photo Credit: MJB Photography

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