Monkeying Around with Junie B. and Friends
by Linda Sullivan Baity
Her name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands for Beatrice. Except she doesn’t like Beatrice. She just likes B and that’s all.
B stands for something else, too. B-A-B-Y, which is not exactly a thrilling prospect for this stubborn, sassy kindergartner who hates stewed tomatoes and already knows all she needs to know about babies, thank you very much.
“I smelled one at my friend Grace’s house. It had some spit-up on its front. And so I held my nose and hollered, ‘P.U.! WHAT A STINK BOMB!’ Then Grace made me go home.”
Of course, when her mother promises that she can have her very own air freshener to spray all by herself whenever she likes, Junie B decides that putting up with that dumb bunny baby might not be so bad after all. Especially when her two bestest friends in the whole wide world are ready to give her their most prized possessions and their snack tickets in order to catch a glimpse of the “cutest little monkey” anybody ever saw. But as for those stewie pewie tomatoes—never!
Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business is a funny, fast-paced musical romp based on one of America’s most popular children’s book series. Author Barbara Park has penned more than 25 titles since 1992 featuring the antics of Junie B. and her pint-sized entourage. The books are favorites of girls and boys, moms and dads, teachers and librarians alike.
http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/author/author.html
Park believes that her books are so beloved because of their headstrong six-year-old narrator, who is both very real and very funny. “Junie’s not perfect so kids identify with her,” Park explains. “Kids are eager to laugh, and they don’t care whether they’re laughing at her or with her. They can look at her mistakes and laugh at them, because then they are sort of elevated. ‘Oh, I made that mistake when I was a kid, and I’m grown up now.’ All of Junie’s mistakes make her more real.”
Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business premiered at Imagination Stage, Bethesda, Maryland, in 2003 and since then has been playing before enthusiastic young audiences all over the country. The task of adapting Parks’ book for the stage was undertaken by playwright, composer and cabaret performer Joan Cushing, who was commissioned by Imagination Stage to supply not only the script, but also music and lyrics. She has adapted six other popular children’s books as musicals, including Miss Nelson Is Missing, Petite Rouge: A Cajun Little Red Riding Hood and Brave Irene. According to TYA Magazine, Cushing is “the most produced playwright in children’s theatre.” www.joancushing.com
The cast of SCR’s production is being headed by Jamey Hood in the title role of Junie B. Jones, and Dawn-Lyen Gardner, who portrays Junie B.’s bestest friend, “That Grace.” Four actors will create multiple characters: Brian Hostenske takes on the roles of Principal, Junie B.’s father and Crybaby William; Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper plays Grampa Miller and Meanie Jim; Jennifer Parsons is Grandma Miller and Junie B.’s Kindergarten teacher, known simply as “Mrs.”; and Erika Whalen plays Junie B.’s mother and “Princess” Lucille.
Directing Junie B. Jones is Casey Stangl, who, in addition to her award-winning work in opera and film, has directed on many Southern California stages, including the Falcon Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Pacific Resident Theatre and Ensemble Studio Theatre. She has directed nationally at the Guthrie, Denver Center Theater Company and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. For twelve years, she served as Artistic Director for Eye of the Storm Theatre Company in Minneapolis, and was named “Artist of the Year” by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune.
Musical Director Deborah Wicks La Puma orchestrated Cushing’s score for the original production of Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business and has created all-new arrangements for SCR's production. In addition to her previous musical direction at SCR of The Only Child, Imagine and A Year With Frog and Toad, her work has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Palo Alto’s TheatreWorks, Interlochen Center for the Arts and The White House. Wicks La Puma is a recipient of the Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, the Robert M. Golden Award, an NEA New American Works Grant, two Helen Hayes nominations and two Parents’ Choice Awards. http://www.crunchynotes.com/index.html
Rounding out the production’s creative ensemble are Set Designer Keith Mitchell http://www.kmitchellart.com, Lighting Designer Jaymi Smith http://jaymismith.com, Costume Designer Sara Ryung Clement and Sound Designer Kim Egan.
Previews for Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business begin Friday, November 6, 2009, and the show continues through Sunday, November 22, on the Argyros Stage. In addition to public performances for families, twelve weekday matinees are available for school field trips. All third-graders in Newport-Mesa USD are being invited to attend Junie B. Jones free of charge, thanks to the generous support of the Nicholas Endowment and the Segerstrom Foundation. Private and home school groups may attend on Wednesday, November 18th, for only $5 per student. The 9:30am performance is sold out, but tickets still remain for the second show at 11:15am. For reservations, please call the Box Office at (714) 708-5555.
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