a review
Join the refined Duchess, the free-spirited O’Malley and assorted other characters at the Poncan Theatre for The Evans Children’s
Academy of the Performing Arts production of Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS.
The one-act musical opens Feb. 14 for a three-day run and features a cast of 29 area youngsters, bringing to life the adventures of cats, dogs, geese, humans and a mouse in 1910 Paris.
Andie Wood plays Duchess, the aristocratic mother of three kittens, with elegance and charm. She describes the show as “really fun, interesting and bright. The music is catchy and fast.”
Brynn Liberton, in her first major part, explains her role of kitten
Marie as “really fun” and plays it with “a lot of attitude.” Marie spats with her bigger brothers, feisty Toulouse (Mikaela Hardesty) and milder Berlioz (Karsyn Hunter).
Edgar, as portrayed by Audrey Steffey, may possibly be the most dastardly butler ever to take the stage. He plots to gain the wealth bequeathed to the Aristocats by his employer Madame (Kaylin
West) but runs afoul of the Dog Pack and is foiled by Roquefort, a timid but courageous mouse acted by Hallie Steffey.
The Dog Pack is headed by General Napoleon, played pompously by Jason Devinney; hapless Private Lafayette (Kian Keeth); cohorts Vichy (CJ Wood) and Soisse (Liam Garrison), along with
Extra Dogs (Micah Garrison and Jaime Lopez). They are involved in some comic chases.
Heading the Alley Cats is the brash, streetwise Thomas O’Malley, played with verve by Chapman Stewart. With him is the feline jazz band led by Scat Cat (Khloe Andrews) with Hep Cat (Lucas
Pena), Mad Cat (Kylie Kozarevich), Slick Cat (Tanna Hearon) and
Wacky Cat (Brock Homier).
Andrews says she “has a lot of sass and attitude, and that showed at the audition, but Scat Cat is really kind and he’s really jazzy.”
Pena, easily identified as he wears an “uncomfortable” trash can, notes that “we worked really hard and want the people to have a good time [at the show]. The audience gets to sing at the end, he adds.
Other Alley Cats include Reese Andrews, Porter Hunt, Jameson
Lake, Loretta Stewart, Berlin Hockenbury, Lucy Wilkerson, Chloe
Favela and Kynsley Meeker.
Ava MacKinnon and Emma VanHoesen play geese Amelia and
Abigail, with appropriate goose accents in their speech and waddles in their walk. They rescue O’Malley from a river and join the
Alley Cats escorting the Aristocats home.
Director Luke Garrison says, “It was a lot of fun putting it [the show] together,” and quips, “It was like herding ...
