Kyle DeFauw, Krianna Walljasper, and Natalie Scheers in Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells
Everyone knows that Christmas is a time for peace on Earth and goodwill to men. Unless, of course, you’re an ever-opinionated but lovable first-grader who, in director Kiera Lynn's Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, is brought from page to stage, hilariously, by portrayer Natalie Scheers.
If it’s been a while since you’ve picked up a copy of Barbara Park’s beloved book series, you should know that Room One is preparing for the holiday season. Only Tattletale May (Krianna Walljasper) keeps raining on Junie B’s parade and Christmas cheer. And the most un-cheery thing of all happens when everyone picks names for the class Secret Santa exchange. Who do you think Junie B. gets stuck with? Oh, the first-grade injustices abound!
During the November 29 performance, Scheers was every bit the perfect Junie B. one would want from this familiar character. With ample opportunity to showcase her determination and make sure all of Junie B.’s opinions were heard and taken seriously, Scheers was great fun to watch. I especially enjoyed her interactions with May as Scheers and Walljasper seemed to thrive in the volleying of insults and hurt feelings; when used as an example of what not to do, this duo was certainly a hoot. It was a shame that, on Friday, Scheers’ mic was clearly on the fritz, as it continually cut in and out mid-line. I didn’t miss any lines of importance, but it was an unexpected snafu all the same.
Bradley Robert Jensen’s costume design provided bright, excellent touches of Christmas cheer. The costume highlight was undoubtedly May’s sweater. Truly, it’s been an age since I’ve read any book in Park’s beloved Junie B. series, but I didn’t expect the result of Junie B. and May’s fight to have such a costuming consequence – it was both hilarious and slightly baffling. (I’d love to see that moment again just to figure out how Jensen did it!)
Tristan Layne Tapscott brings Junie B.’s teacher Mr. Scary to life with equal parts frustration and adoration. Whether he was refereeing the first graders’ drama or educating them (and we patrons, too, for that matter) on how viruses spread, Tapscott’s Mr. Scary serves as a solid reminder to everyone that teaching, especially in the crazy month of December, with all its extras, is a heroic profession indeed.
Lynn did a particularly great job of fully leveraging her cast of seven, with four actors taking on multiple parts. One highlight, for me, was watching Savannah Bay Strandin as she played the juxtaposition of rich kid Lucille and Elf Ellen, the PTA President. As Lucille, Strandin got to twirl around showing off all the fancy garb her rich Nana procured for her. Yet Strandin also seemed to enjoy her time as an adult character Elf; it was nice that Lynn allowed most of the on-stage talent the opportunity to artistically explore multiple roles. Noah Johnson spends most of the show as the timid Sheldon, but also gets a fun one-on-one scene with Junie B. as her wonderful Grandpa. Kyle DeFauw enacted best friend Hebert, as well as stuffed-elephant-turned-stand-in-conscience Phillip Johnny Bob, which proved to be a delightful combo. Isn’t your conscience a best friend of sorts?
Double-casting the character Jose as Mr. Toot is another great example of how Lynn creatively utilized her performers. As a first-grader, Jose is almost a throw-away character, but A.C. Lam is allowed to really shine as music teacher Mr. Toot, especially during the school sing-along. (We've all had a teacher like peppy Mr. Toot.) It was a nice touch that, during the sing-along, the house lights came up and everyone in the audience was encouraged to join Room One in singing a variety of Christmas tunes. The lyric sheets on the tables were particularly savvy – there were no excuses to not join in.
Meanwhile, during the sing-along, there was ample opportunity for patrons to interact with the characters, which the youngest ones seemed to get a kick out of, some even wandering about to find the exact character they were hoping to meet. (For what it’s worth, as all the characters move about the house frequently, it’s just as likely that they’ll find you, so I recommend staying closer to your table, lest you get lost like a few littles I saw.)
While there's plenty of seasonal spirit in Lynn’s show, there’s also a great lesson to be learned. While perhaps not so Christmasy, burps are obviously among some of the funniest bodily functions, and the first-graders here certainly thought so. Dylan Dutro’s epic sound effects added to the humor so that Junie B. could offer us the moral of the Jungle Bells, Batman Smells story wrapped up in a humorous little package that was most enjoyable all around. Providing Scheers’ mic is switched going forward, I foresee this holiday spectacular to be a comical hit!
Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells runs at the Circa '21 Dinner Theatre (1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL) through December 29, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.com.
