by Claire DeRoin–
“Hide under the table! Hide!”
The squeals of elementary school children rang in Morningside’s Klinger-Neal theatre Tuesday, September 25, as the theatre department presented its last showing of “Jack and the Beanstalk.”
Jack, played by Kyle McGlade, interacted with the audience (made up of students from four local elementary schools) throughout the entire play, which lasted about 45 minutes. The story begins when Jack sells his family’s cow, Lucky (played by Addi Morgan), since Jack’s mother (played by Elizabeth Planck) tells him that they’re out of money. Instead of selling Lucky for gold, Jack sells her for magic beans, which grow into a giant beanstalk. Once climbing the beanstalk, Jack finds a huge castle.
The play was narrated through song by Melissa Richter.
Mandy Suing played the Giant’s Cook, who lets Jack into the Giant’s castle repeatedly, enabling Jack to steal the Giant’s Golden Goose (Cat Ruddy) and Magic Singing Harp (Haley Gabriel). Charles Ummach played the Giant, who ultimately, loses a bag of gold to Jack, who needs the money to save his village and buy food to eat.
Various solos were performed throughout the play, but Suing’s song about working as the Giant’s cook elicited the most applause. McGlade hosted somewhat of a sing-along with an echo song. The audience enthusiastically copied McGlade when he motioned (putting a hand to his ear). The adult chaperones and teachers in the audience were treated to puns that were all mostly over the childrens’ heads whenever Morgan, Lucky the Cow, was on stage.
“Jack and the Beanstalk” kept the young audience’s attention throughout. That makes it all-in-all, a success.
—
