It was so satisfying to see the Dame of Pikes (Lisa Teixeira) and her toady, Lord Jabbers (Kris Gibbons), get their comeuppance at the end of "Alice and the Stolen Tarts," the 18th annual pantomime by the Kennett Amateur Theatrical Society.
By trickery, the oily Jabbers managed to steal the powerful tarts, enabling the greedy Duchess to turn Wonderland into a grim, colorless theme park for tourists. In the end, though, the tarts were returned to Wonderland and good triumphed. The once-haughty Queen was demoted to an apron-clad servant, and Jabbers grovelled and begged to be beheaded after learning he would be sentenced to work at the Kennett Inn.
The show was a delight, as always. Lisa Teixeira was hilariously over-the-top in her gleeful wickedness. Alice (Jules Weiler) and her maid Mary Ann (Kaitlyn Diehl) were delightfully spunky. We laughed at the spaced-out drawl of the hookah-smoking Caterpillar (Katherine Casey). The Cheshire Cat (Beth Holladay)'s languorous stretching and laser-light chasing reminded me of my own cat at home. Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Tessa and Gillian Haldeman) were hilarious, pummeling each other with bats at random moments. The children's chorus -- this year they were baby pigs -- was adorable.
In accord with Panto traditions, we sang the Silly Song, booed and hissed at the villains, greeted the Queen of Hearts (Steven Ashby) and Jacko (Holly Gouge) whenever they appeared and called out "Behind you!" at appropriate moments.
We were sitting close enough that we could watch music director Brenten Megee conducting from the piano, swiping from song to song on his digital score.
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