Review: WORKING FOR THE MOUSE Exposes Backstage Shenanigans at Disneyland

Ever wonder what really goes on at the Happiest Place on Earth? Parents who know better than to allow their children backstage to break the magic of Disneyland, as well as those in the know, can learn even more about the life of a costumed character in WORKING FOR THE MOUSE, now onstage in the Elephant Space at Theater Asylum.

San Francisco playwright and performer Trevor Allen spent a few years in Southern California portraying Pluto, Mr. Smee, the Mad Hatter and other characters in his 5'5' height range on his quest for voice clearance and his dream of becoming Peter Pan. The boy who never wanted to grow up recounts his tales of backstage debauchery, sex, drugs, kicks to the crotch, militant managers, and quirky coworkers in this unique coming-of-age tale that blows pixie dust in your eyes while offering a glimpse behind the ears of the Magic Kingdom.

Along the way we meet many of his hysterical co-workers, all of whom are well represented with quirky mannerisms and voices. On his first character job as Pluto, Allen was assigned to a grumpy veteran dressed as Donald Duck. I especially enjoyed his off-the-wall remarks and lessons on how to survive in costume, including "never let them get behind you" and "always stay in the shade." Think about it - many summer days can reach over 100 degrees in Anaheim and the furry dog costume required Allen wearing a 30 pound head on top of an unforgiving full body costume.

Describing the costumed entertainers break room as a room filled with heads on sticks, it was easy to image all of the 7 dwarfs along with Snow Hite lined up along a wall while their human counterparts were off doing whatever they could during their short amount of freedom. And of course, rule #1 is never let anyone in Disneyland see you without your head. There were a few very comical incidents related to that rule, according to Allen.

While working as the Mad Hatter, Allen developed a huge crush on the actress playing Alice in Wonderland, a petite blonde with sparkling blue eyes. Of course everyone loves Alice, but this particular young lady brought in some very special brownies one afternoon, leading to the most remarkable experience for Allen on the Alice in Wonderland ride. "Who knew it was that psychedelic?"

In listening to conversations going on after the show will some of his fellow Disney cohorts who were in the audience, I learned there is a basketball court inside the Matterhorn as well as many hidden nooks and crannies for very private moments between characters on break inside the mountain, totally hidden from public view.

Allen does tend to keep his voice at a very loud pitch throughout the entire show, surely a result of the excitement he feels in recounting his tales. However, to better draw the audience into the stories, more vocal level variance would be a welcome change.

WORKING FOR THE MOUSE originated at the San Francisco Fringe Festival in 1996 and went on to play at Berkeley's Impact Theatre, where it premiered in 2002 and was re-staged June 2011. Nancy Carlin directs this revival of Allen's riotously sordid memoir, based on Kent Nicholson's original staging.

Combined Artform presents BLACK BOX THEATRE'S WORKING FOR THE MOUSE through April 19 on Fri - Sat at 8pm, Sun at 3pm in the Elephant Space at Theater Asylum, 1078 Lillian Way, LA CA 90038. Tickets are $20 and available at workingforthemouse.com or www.theatreasylumla.com or 800-838-3006.

Photo by Kevin Berne

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