Farmer’s Alley adds a dash of “Fancy” to your life
KALAMAZOO, Mich.–Farmer’s Alley Theatre wants its young audiences to know that anyone can be fancy, and they’re willing to help that along.
They’re first willing to help out in what might be seen as a traditional way—with tiaras and feather boas, which are available for sale in the lobby. Those will make any young girl feel fancy. But they don’t want the boys to feel left out and that is what comes next.
The play on the stage for their children’s series is Fancy Nancy the Musical, and it’s based on the books by Jane O’Connor. In it, they talk about lots of ways to be fancy, and Nancy and her friends assure Lionel that boys can be fancy too.
In this musical, we learn that being fancy can mean using big words, adding flair to an outfit, speaking French, or, most importantly, being kind and having a good heart.
Directed by Sandra Bremer, this show by Susan DiLallo and Danny Abosch is cast with all adult actors, who play the parts of five children and one adult. The stage is transformed into a thrust stage with chairs put up all around the three-sides of the stage to accommodate sold-out audiences. Stage designer Jeff Lindquist managed to create an interior and exterior scene in a small space without making it look crowded and Bremer directed it so characters could ignore walls and take to the center often where they were best seen by everyone.
Elizabeth Stone creates emotional energy as Fancy Nancy. Whether she’s singing or pouting, she commands attention and is rightly cast in the title role. Costumer CH Drenth (who triples as stage manager and prop designer) clearly had a blast making Stone fancy, and she dances with layers of clothing, ribbons in her hair and tiaras. She also got an assist from Steve Hodges who did hair and wig design.
Stone is very likeable as Nancy and plays the role of a child well. She is authentic in her role without ever looking down on the girl she is playing. Nancy is eager to have all her friends—and her mom—be just as fancy as she is and Stone is equally generous in her acting with the others on stage.
She is joined by her best friend Bree, played by Tia L. Pinson, the jock-like twins Rhonda (Jackie Wiles) and Wanda (Allie Grace) and the sole boy, Lionel (Dwight L. Trice, Jr.). Nancy’s mom is played by Mary Teutsch.
Lionel announces to the gathered children that the new dance teacher is putting on a show and they’ll all make their debut in it. Bree and Nancy are thrilled because they want to be mermaids—the fanciest creatures in the sea. They soon must learn to live with disappointment and determine whether they can still be fancy with the parts they are given.
Fun moments in the show include when Wiles and Grace sing “On My Team,” a young version of “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.” They show off their competitiveness while still displaying a love for one another and a happiness that they’re always on the same team. They have another fun moment with Trice when the three of them try to explain to Nancy and Bree what terrible thing has just happened.
The hour-long show is geared toward children 4 to 10 and it’s got just the right amount of interaction and high-energy dancing to keep kids interested and engaged. The seven-year-old I took with me came out dancing and declared, “That’s the best show I’ve ever seen!”