KATS: "Alice and the Stolen Tarts"

The Kennett Amateur Theatrical Society will present this year's panto, "Alice and the Stolen Tarts," at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Kennett High School auditorium.
We visited a recent rehearsal to get a sneak preview.
The costumes are splendid -- we especially liked the Caterpillar (Katherine Casey, wearing John Lennon-style hippie glasses) and Humpty Dumpty (BJ Crampton). The Cheshire Cat (Beth Holladay) boasts an oversized grin illuminated by multicolored LED lights.
Alice is played by Jules Weiler, a senior at Avon Grove High School, and her maid, Mary Ann, is played by Kaitlyn Diehl from the University of Delaware.
In his first year with KATS, Stephen Ashby plays the cross-dressing Dame, one of the traditional figures of British panto. "I like it a lot," he said, batting his gigantic false eyelashes.
The villain this year is the Duchess of Spades, played by Lisa Teixeira (in real life the Kennett High School librarian). Her sidekick in evil is Lord Jabbers (Kris Gibbons). They were rehearsing "We're So Wicked" as we watched.
KATS regular Peter Giangiulio plays the King of Hearts, and of course there's a children's chorus. Director Chris Ramsay explained that at one point the children get "peppered" and turn into baby pigs.
The show was written by William Merrick and Hugh Sandison, with music by the two and Bill's wife, Judy. Music director, who was leading the cast in "Welcome to Wonderland" as rehearsal started, is Brenten Megee.
Ticket information for the show is available at the KATS website, callkats.org.

 

 

Lisa Teixeira as the Duchess of Spades and Kris Gibbons as Lord Jabbers rehearse "We're So Wicked." (Photo by Mark Delaney)

 

 

Jules Weiler plays Alice. (Photo by Mark Delaney)