True love won out over greed and evil, the kids in the chorus were completely adorable, and the jokes had us groaning: in other words, we had a great time at this year's KATS pantomime, "Sleeping Beauty and the Tangley Wood." This was the 17th KATS production, and it seems that people no longer need to be told that audience participation is encouraged: they needed no prompting to boo and hiss every time the evil Specula (played by Sofia Rose) or anyone sporting a New England Patriots jersey made an entrance.
Joe Finn was hilarious as the officious, clipboard-carrying "Borough Inspector of Jokes, Gags and Jollities." Wearing a business suit, he sat at the side of the stage monitoring for poor-quality jokes that had been banned by Borough Council. And to inform the cast which jokes they couldn't tell, HE told them. Sample: What happens if you don't pay your exorcist? You get repossessed.
Gary Smith, director and a KATS founder, took the stage before the curtain rose and paid a fond tribute to the late Kirk Fetters, a Kennett High School teacher who played the role of the Dame for many years. As the "in memoriam" in the program said, "Kirk's Dames were competent, confident ladies who were entirely comfortable in their own skin. Kirk intuitively understood right from the very beginning that the best pantomime Dame is 'a very nice woman played by a nice man.' Kirk was a very nice man, and, my goodness, weren't we all very lucky to have known him."
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