Article:9991; Posted: July 17, 2015 at 9:00 p.m.

She’s sassy and eccentric. Unique and independent. She’s Junie B. Jones and she’s charmed kindergartners and first graders for nearly two decades since the first Barbara Park Junie B. Jones book was published in 1992.

Now in Holland, courtesy of Hope Summer Repertory Theater, she’s onstage as part of a musical that is sure to delight her fans and the adults they bring along with them.

The show, “Junie B. Jones: The Musical,” is cute and full of energy. It’s shiny, filled with primary colors and big dance numbers, and has professional actors playing the parts of kids and adults alike.

Central to the show is Junie B. Jones who is played by Mollie Murk. With her long pigtails and purple glasses, she has a wide-eyed look to her that goes well for a first grader who is on the verge of discovering the world around her.

Murk has many of Junie B.’s trademark lines and delivers them with just enough attitude to invoke the Barbara Park character without going so overboard that she becomes unlikeable and bratty. Rather, she is charismatic and endearing, making it easy for the audience to root for her and to share her emotions as she goes on the roller coaster ride that is first grade.

The musical starts out with her getting a notebook—a notebook in which she can write her life. She calls it her top-secret personal beeswax, which is also the name of the first song. It sets the tone for what is to come, with the nine-person cast pairing off in a circle around Junie B. for animated dance moves designed to delight.

And the adventures to record in the journal start soon and keep coming. She finds herself in need of new friends and glasses in first grade, both of which create a crisis for the young protagonist. Later, she wants to star in a kickball tournament, but things go awry for her in that department as well.

Murk is surrounded by an ensemble that is as endearing as she is. The actors playing kids find just the right postures to communicate their characters, often slumped and limbs akimbo, capturing the essence of young creatures who were not designed to sit still so long.

Raina Houston stood out in each of her roles—the bossy May, “that Grace” and Mother. Each were presented with widely different looks and attitudes and all were well done. May was filled with superior attitude, while it all melted away for the gentle mother who valued Junie B. Jones while offering proper guidance.

Early in the hour-long musical, Brianna Brice as Lucille, Benjamin Lohrberg as Chenille and Callee Miles as Camille sing a trio that inspires early laughter. Lucille explains to Junie B. that they can’t be best friends anymore because their names don’t rhyme.

Instead, Junie B. friends the new boy, Herb, played by Kenny Cole. Cole is yin to Junie’s yang. His Herb takes her craziness in stride and is always faithful and supportive. He balances an awkwardness with a patient forbearance.

The Dewitt Studio theater is in-the-round and Director Daina Robins keeps her actors moving so they don’t have their backs to anyone for very long. This is especially challenging in the classroom scenes where she has the movable seats set up at an angle to give everyone something to see. Most of the time, though, her actors are on the move and they find authentic reasons to change their facing and keep all of their young audience engaged.

For a theater-in-the-round, Keenan Minogue’s set is clever and invokes the main plot of Junie B.’s top-secret personal beeswax journal. The floor was made up of scattered pages, and the one corner had pages hung in a mobile style to make the background of the classroom. Jacquelyn Loy’s costumes were done in bright colors that were in harmony with the book’s illustrations. They helped make the adult actors convincingly play the part of young people. They also made for several effective quick changes amongst the actors who played several characters.

Overall, “Junie B. Jones: The Musical” was cute and clever, a fun morning for children and adults with good music, charming acting and bright colors.

SHOW DETAILS:
Junie B. Jones: The Musical
Hope Summer Repertory Theatre
DeWitt Stage, 141 E. 12th St., Holland
Performances July 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30, August 1, 3, and 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Performances July 25, 27, 31, and August 5 at 1:30 p.m
Tickets: $15.00
616-395-7890
Hope.edu/