Moorestown Theater Company was asked last year by the parents of Westfield Friends School, a Quaker elementary school, to start their first drama group. This is their second production. Mark Morgan has directed a cast of 28 children, from kindergarteners to 7th graders, in a delightful production. Since it was a kid friendly show I invited my niece and her almost 5 year old son to accompany me. His review follows mine below.
A candid shot from the audience by the reviewer of the cast of 101 DALMATIANS, KIDS.
The set and staging were handled well and the delight of the children and their families was evident. Thom Sirkot has done a nice job dressing these kids, it is not always an easy feat to make a ten year old look like an adult. If a talented little bunch of kids, dressed charmingly as dalmatian dogs and puppies, doesn’t steal your hearts, then their performances will. Some of the most adorable moments belong to the smallest kids; the older children display talents beyond what one would expect for their ages. Julianna Banfe as ‘Cruella De Vil’ has terrific stage presence, a wicked laugh and a fine voice. She was great fun to watch. Matthew Stone and Isabelle Chevalier as Roger and Anita are charming, Anita possesses a lovely voice. Cruella’s henchmen Horace and Jasper add some nice comic relief, nice job you two. Nice job by all the cast and crew.
My nephew B’s review: “Mom told me Aunt Lene was going to take us to see a play called 101 Dalmatians. I was excited because my dad is a fireman. We watched the movie. I liked it. As we were sitting down at the theater the fire alarm went off. It was sooo loud. We had to go outside and wait for the fire department to come and check things out to make sure it was safe for us to go back inside. They did not bring any fire dogs but the theater had plenty of them!! Ha ha. I really like watching the kids onstage dancing and singing. They were good. My favorite part was when the puppies escaped from Cruella’s cage and ran all around the theater while ‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ played. Oh yeah,… the pretzel and oreos were good, too!”
The show is only up for 2 performances…Oct 30th and Nov. 1st.
Disney’s 101 DALMATIANS, KIDS
Directed by Mark Morgan
Moorestown Theater Company
at Westfield Friends School
2201 Riverton Road
Cinnaminson NJ 08077
856 778 8357
MoorestownTheaterCompany.org
