Review: THE SQUIRRELS at Burbage Theatre Company

A show where all the characters are squirrels? Yes. Playwright Robert Askins puts a warning in the mouth of the scientist who opens the show: "Buckle up, you discerning patron of the arts." And you should. Because this cleverly written, brilliantly acted, and flawlessly executed production takes audiences on quite a wild ride. It's a jaw-dropping, spellbinding, and thoroughly enjoyable evening of theatre. About...squirrels.

Let's just get this out of the way up front: Everyone wears tails, chitters and purrs, and holds their front paws (sorry, arms) just as a squirrel would. But they wear normal clothes, speak English, and have (to varying degrees) clear insight into their world. Which is, for those of us willing to make the connection, contemporary America in a funhouse mirror. Or, well, actually, a hollow tree.

We meet Sciurus, a generally good-hearted patriarch gray squirrel with memory issues, played with affable grace by Vince Petronio. He's all about the existing social order, which in squirrel terms, is storing up as many nuts as possible for the winter and taking care of family first. His wife, Mammalia, puts up with his idiosyncrasies and tries to keep him from doing anything stupid. MJ Daly does an outstanding job as matriarch, turning in a keenly nuanced performance in a role that runs the gamut from genial domestic wordplay to some very extreme moments as the crimes of late-stage capitalism come home to roost.

Their daughter, Chordata (you'll probably twig to the fact that all the character names are derived from the species' Latin taxonomy) is in love with a red squirrel, Carolinensis. Jessie March is utterly charming, playing Chordata with the heartfelt naïveté of all teenagers. Omar Laguerre-Lewis is totally convincing as the idealistic "red" squirrel (Get it? You certainly will later when he dons a beret...) torn between love for Chordata and the hunger of his comrades, being starved by Sciurus' overly zealous nut hoarding.

Their other -- adopted -- daughter is a red squirrel named Rodentia. Val Westgate turns in an affecting performance as a needy, wheedling daughter driven by self interest.

Add to the mix a devious gray named Sciuridae, played with gusto and sly Machiavellian turns by Joe Henderson (who also serves as the frame-tale scientist). Henderson hits just the right notes as a manipulative opportunist, out to make the tree great again -- for gray squirrels. He plays on Sciurus's pride and insecurity to create a rift between gray and red that spins out of control. To say more about the plot would be to give away too much -- this is a show you must see to really appreciate.

If this sounds over-determined and ponderous, it is anything but. The whole cast are absolutely perfect, and you'll forget that there's anything odd about their costumes or turns of phrase drawn from the lifeworld of squirrels (their den is a "drey," they make "muk muk muk" sounds of affection, their metaphors are, well, nuts.) The dialogue is razor sharp and full of dark comedic energy, all delivered perfectly. Even the largely wordless ensemble players -- Brian Kozak, Brayden Fanti, Jared Nobrega -- are totally in the groove.

Director Mark Peckham has done a superb job at setting the right tone; this is a script that could easily slide off into farce or meta theater, but not here. Every actor is totally committed, and plays their roles with an unselfconscious naturalism that completely sells the premise. Outstanding direction.

And the look of the show is stunning. Trevor Elliot's impressionistic, angular set provides a rich backdrop that suggests a world inside a tree without being representational. And the set's movements late in the show are powerful. As is the use of projections, which are brilliantly integrated -- and devastatingly executed. There are some on-the-beat effects -- you'll know then when you see them -- that are jaw-dropping. Big kudos to the technical crew.

"We're going to bite and claw and scratch until today looks like yesterday," says Sciurus in a moment of manic determination to fight off the upstart reds. You'll recognize many of the problems of today's world in this tiny, furry dark comedy, made all the more visible in their tragic banality (Fighting over nuts? We humans would surely never be so callous and scheming about matters of economics and survival...) This is a show packed with solid performances and beautifully shaped theatrical moments. Highly recommended.

The Squirrels by Robert Askins, directed by Mark Peckham. Burbage Theatre Company, 59 Blackstone Ave, Pawtucket, RI. Tickets $27/$17 Student, available at (401) 484-0355 or https://www.burbagetheatre.org/. Performances April 29-May 13. Fri-Sat April 29,30, May 6,7,13,14 8pm, Sunday May 1,8, 15 2pm. Mask and proof of vaccination/negative test required.

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