Fancy Nancy is a vivacious bundle of red-haired energy with a fondness for flash, filigree and fine things. She would be pleased with the funny, physical stage version of her philosophy in Fancy Nancy the Musical, which opened Friday at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre.
Fancy Nancy, the subject of more than 70 children's picture books written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, is enamored of extravagances such as feather boas, tiaras, parasols and a luxuriant vocabulary. Nothing ordinary will do.
Along with pals Bree (Jessica Lawson), athletic Wanda and Rhonda (Rebecca Taylor and Grace Taylor, respectively), and Lionel (Geoffrey Eggleston), Nancy (an exuberant Aleigha Morton) is confident she'll be cast as the high-visibility Mermaid in a school production of Deep Sea Dances. When the role goes to another and she's assigned the part of a tree, she's understandably distressed.
But fancy is as fancy does. All it takes is a dash of imagination. And Nancy has plenty of that.
The posh factor of this colorful 55-minute production suits Nancy's sensibilities -- clever songs and lively dances pitched at young audience members, with enough wit to keep adults in the audience engaged (even though technical difficulties plagued one cast member's microphone).
Adorable as Nancy is, it's gawky Lionel, cast as a shark in Deep Sea Dances, who steals the show. The hoodie-wearing rapper, extolling the virtues of chomping on those who oppose him, is hilarious, right down to his line "When you're a shark you're a shark all the way," an homage to the 1950s-era musical West Side Story that absolutely no one in the targeted audience demographic will understand.
No matter. The fact that many of them showed up in sequins, poofy satin hair bows and voluminous tutus shows that they agree with Nancy's proclamation that "being elegant is what we love to do."
Fancy Nancy the Musical continues through April 2 at the Children's Theatre, 501 E. Ninth St. Ticket information is available by calling (501) 372-4000.
Metro on 03/11/2017