BWW Reviews: TILLY THE TRICKSTER at Fine Arts Center

Children's books written by celebrities are a decidedly mixed bag. Sure, Jaime Lee Curtis and Julie Andrews know how to spin a good yarn, but too many examples of the breed are muddled, semi-autobiographical vanity projects composed by people who don't realize that writing for kids is significantly harder than it looks.

I confess I haven't read Tilly the Trickster, Saturday Night Live-alum Molly Shannon's picture book about a chronic prankster who needs a serious lesson in empathy, but if the musical adaptation now in production at the Fine Arts Center is any reference, it's neither the worst nor the best of the breed. There are some great characters, several good laughs, a bit of a draggy story, and a valuable if somewhat hastily delivered lesson about consideration for others.

As the title character, Casey Fetters achieves the difficult but necessary task of making Tilly a likeable person. It's not easy, especially when Tilly's pranks make her friends miss the bus or throw the family breakfast table into chaos. But Tilly isn't deliberately mean or cruel, just thoughtless-she thinks her practical jokes are funny, and if everybody else doesn't, well, they just need to lighten up a little, right? Fetters brings an eager cleverness and lots of energy and heart to her character, as do Gabby Papa and Evan Lennon as Tilly's friends.

Most of the humor in the play feels pitched more at the parents in the audience than the children gathered in the special "lawn seating" at the front of the house. Jason Lythgoe and Jen Lennon get some of the best moments as Tilly's parents, who perform a wonderfully dramatic lament to their child-rearing failures. (Mom and Dad are too harsh on themselves; they do come up with an effective method for showing Tilly the error of her ways.) Lythgoe also provides some sly snark to "Mornings Stink," a complaint about the noise and stress that greet him in the chaos of daily preparations. Lennon does a brief but memorable turn as Tilly's fantastically loopy music teacher, whose every sentence ends in a warble or a trill. And Adam Blancas provides some of the best laughs as the family dog Peppermint, whose barks and woofs are translated into an erudite English-accented commentary for the audience's benefit. (Despite Peppermint's pretentions to sophistication, he's still not above the allure of a good chew toy.)

Despite the weaknesses in the material, the cast is clearly having fun with Tilly the Trickster, and that makes it fun to watch. For the kids in the audience, that's usually enough. TILLY THE TRICKSTER plays now through March 29th in the Music Room at the Fine Arts Center, Thursdays through Saturdays at 6pm, with matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm and Sundays at 4pm. The show runs about one hour and is appropriate for children two and up. For tickets, contact the box office at 719-634-5583 or visit csfineartscenter.org.