Junie B. Jones is confronted with a quandary while searching through her kindergarten's lost-and-found box for her beloved fuzzy black mittens.
The mittens are not there. But nearby, on the floor, she spies a pen, the kind that writes in four different colors. It's not hers. But why shouldn't it be? Sure, it belongs to somebody. But hey, her mittens are gone -- probably stolen! -- so it only seems fair to snatch and claim the pen. Finders keepers, losers weepers, right?
There's nothing prim about the morality issue concerning honesty that's presented in Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook, which opened Friday at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre. Based on Book No. 9 in the 28-volume Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park, this is an insanely physical ballet of wackiness that literally rolls across the stage.
At the center is an annoying, noisy, hyperactive and irritating child (played with unbridled energy by Samantha Harrington, who must be totally exhausted at the end of each performance), who even her peers find exasperating, let alone her teacher (Bethany Post) and the school principal (Jared Gibson).
Those peers include self-aggrandizing and overdressed Lucille (Morgan Jones), described by Junie as being "way beautifuller than me," and fast-on-her-feet Grace (Verda Davenport), as well as handsome new kid Warren (Stephen Jones).
The pedal-to-the-metal pace of this production from start to finish justifies the casting of adults in all the childish roles. And to their credit, there's never a moment when those adults aren't totally convincing in portraying the goofy, shrieking, outrageous and occasionally affecting behavior of a cohort that's almost 6 years old.
Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook continues through March 31 at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre, Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock. More information is available by calling (501) 372-4000 or visiting arkansasartscenter.org.
Metro on 03/10/2018