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Regional Reviews: Phoenix The Cat in the Hat
Also see Gil's reviews of Blue Man Group, Top Gun: Live, Abridged and Completely Underfunded and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The Cat in the Hat believes in having fun, no matter what the circumstances are, and Seuss created the entertaining and wildly imaginative book with an inventive rhyme scheme, a sly cat, and creatures out of the ordinary to take children to a magical place with a magical cat as our tour guide. Using short and simple words, Seuss created a specific rhyming scheme that is still immediately recognizable today. In 2009, Katie Mitchell adapted and directed a stage version of the Seuss book for the Royal National Theatre in England. Mitchell's faithful adaptation of the book uses Seuss' text and brings to life its many memorable moments, resulting in an extremely charming stage play telling the story of young Sally and her brother, stuck at home on a rainy day with just their pet fish and their mother away, when the cat arrives to entertain them. The play lovingly depicts the many crazy and memorable moments from the book, including the Cat showing his skill in balancing many items—books, a cake, a rake, a boat and the fish—while standing on a ball, the havoc that Thing 1 and Thing 2 manage to wreak, and the cleaning machine the Cat rides around the house to pick up the mess he's created. All of these moments are imagined on stage in a highly theatrical way. The Childsplay production, which runs about 50 minutes, features a capable cast and some truly creative production elements. Katie McFadzen portrays the cat as a proper well groomed chap but one who relishes chaos with a winking grim and a sweet nature. Kate Haas and Rudy Ramirez as Sally and her brother both bring a childlike innocence to their roles as well as a frantic confusion when things start to get out of hand. Ricky Araiza is a winner as the Fish. With the Fish a puppet on his hand, Araiza has no problem playing the voice of conventional wisdom who, by knowing this is not the way one should behave when their mother is away, is always trying to get the Cat to leave, getting more and more frustrated when no one will listen to him. Debra K. Stevens and Rebecca Duckworth are having a blast as Thing 1 and Thing 2, running around the stage, talking gibberish with an occasional cartwheel or two thrown in for added fun. Directing a show like this, involving well timed sound effects and movement and a cast portraying well-known literary characters speaking in rhyme, must be similar to the role a traffic cop would play at the intersection of multiple busy highways. So director David Barker's achievement in making this all appear seamless is impeccable. The lively drawings from the book, which incorporate non-straight lines and odd shapes, and the black, white and red color pallete have been brought to life not only in the few set pieces designed by John Emery but also in D. Daniel Hollingshead's costumes and wig designs and the inventive prop designs by Jim Luther. An extremely well executed sound design by Christopher Neumeyer includes a substantial number of comical sounds effects well-timed to the crazy events happening on the stage as well as a jazzy musical underscore. While Childsplay's The Cat in the Hat may be too simple for older children, I think younger children, parents, and anyone who has a fond remembrance of the joys the Cat brought to Sally and her brother on a rainy day will have a swell time. A brief question and answer session with the cast after the show adds a nice element for the children in the audience, allowing the adults to see how the imagination of the play piques their imagination. With a talented cast, impressive direction and splendid creative elements, this Cat is one that anyone would welcome into their house. The Cat in the Hat at Childsplay runs through March 16th at the Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe, with performances on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. Tickets start at $12 and are on sale at www.childsplayaz.org or at the Tempe Center for the Arts Box Office (480) 350-2822 (ext. 0) Written by Katie Mitchell
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