Mile Square Theatre has made a name for itself on the west side of Hoboken, offering live professional theater just across the river from one of the world’s most renowned theater districts.
Founder and Artistic Director Chris O’Connor has a deep interest in children’s theater, having been an associate of Seattle’s Children’s Theatre for a decade. In 2009 he directed MST’s very popular children’s play Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.
MST’s upcoming children’s play is The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi, Y York’s adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s story by the same name in The Jungle Book.
Here’s a rundown of the action: Darzee, the Taylor Bird, is incensed when Rikki the Mongoose, washes up in her pristine garden. She and Chuchu, the Muskrat, attempt to run the cheerful mongoose out of the garden, until they see Nag, the Cobra, run from the mongoose in fear.
“We’re in the business of cultivating tomorrow’s audience.” Chris O’Connor
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“It’s about sharing, cooperation, and growing up,” said Matthew Lawler, MST associate artistic director. “Chris O’Connor always wanted the theater to have a children’s and educational component.”
O’Connor has an extensive background in mime and clowning.
“Doing theater for a young audience is part of our mission,” O’Connor said. “The reason is we want to expose theater to children so they have some literacy in theater and learn to appreciate what good quality theater is.”
These kids may not want to be involved in theater but MST hopes they will want to go to the theater.
“We’re in the business of cultivating tomorrow’s audience,” O’Connor said.
MST offers classes for kids from age 3 to 15. Young kids learn storytelling. “They experiment with imagination and voice and bodies through hearing stories and acting them out,” Lawler said.
It also offers programs for teens and adults, which include scene studies and monologues.
Raise the curtain
Rikki Tikki Tavi has broad appeal. “This play is very entertaining and very funny,” Lawler said. “It has strong, vivid characters. The cooperation, sharing, and identity things appealed to us.”
The author is a very experienced playwright. “York has written a lot of original work for children and done a lot of adaptations,” Lawler said. A member of the Dramatists Guild, she has written numerous plays, including the children’s plays River Rat and Cat.
After the performance, the cast will conduct a “talk back,” during which the children can talk about the experience of watching the play and tell the cast what they thought.
“They can talk about what they saw and how it made them feel, these two were fighting and that person was shut out,” Lawler said.
Some parents may remember The Jungle Book series on television.
“We thought it would resonate with parents,” Lawler said. “It’s a beloved story that parents might remember and certainly The Jungle Book was in a lot of people’s homes.”
Casting call
“We have a terrific cast,” Lawler said. “The woman who played Lilly in Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Blaire Brooks, plays Darzee.”
A MST company member, Brooks has been in MST’s productions of Scapin and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has also worked at the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Public Theater, in commercials, and on the Guiding Light and Law & Order.
“She’s just hilarious,” Lawler said
“There’s terrific original music that we’re working on and using in the show, terrific designers, and great costumes,” he said. “It’s a very striking production.”
And what about that cobra? Aren’t snakes a little scary for 4-year-olds?
“That’s something we’ve talked about, how to treat the snake,” Lawler said. “In the read-through we talked about how to make the snake a little less scary without compromising the story.”
Apparently snakes can be quite funny.
“There’s a lot of humor that York found in the adaptation,” he said. “She sends up the snake a little bit. While certainly scary he comes across vain. There’s really a chance to laugh at him through his vanity and sense of self. He’s overly self important.”
Lawler said he thought the illustration of the snake was scarier than what the kids will see on stage. Phew!
“There are times when the snake plays low status that will be easier for kids to deal with,” Lawler said. “The actor playing the snake uses language and his body to project an image. There is something very harmless about him as well. Parents will be relieved. Anyone nervous will find him cuddly.”
“The plays we choose for young people are really fun and entertaining but also give them a chance to see characters grapple with dilemmas and decisions just like they would,” O’Connor said. “The on-stage characters are characters they can relate to.”
Show bill
The designers for the show include scenic designer Jen Price Fick, lighting designer Matthew Fick, who is MST’s resident set designer, and costume designer Melanie Burgess.
The shows will be presented at the MST theater as well as in schools. The first school show is March 31. The first public show will be Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students and seniors, and $20 for adults.
Visit www.milesquaretheatre.org for a complete schedule of both public and school shows or call (201) 683-7014
Mile Square Theatre is at 720 Monroe St., Hoboken.
Kate Rounds can be reached at krounds@hudsonreporter.com..