SALT LAKE CITY – As one of the only two professional theatres in Salt Lake City, it’s always fun to see what Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) is up to. This holiday season, SLAC is up to its wings in silliness for the whole family with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, the musical, based on the children’s book by Mo Willems with script by Willems and Tom Warburton, music by Debora Wicks La Puma and lyrics by Willems.
Show closes December 30, 2024.
Housed in a beautifully renovated and converted historical church built in 1896 by early LDS settlers, SLAC is always a treat to visit, The production is in the Upstairs Theatre and as is typical for opening night at SLAC, the mood is festive. Upon arrival I was invited to join the rest of the audience in the greenroom for a cookie party and discovered platters of cookies decorated to look like Pigeon’s big eyes, being served with milk. Pigeon art by students from the Visual Art Institute adorns the walls of the greenroom. If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the opening night cookie party, the pigeon cookies will be available at concessions on future evenings and you can still check out the greenroom art.
Entering the theatre I discovered the festive mood continued. Children and families chatting as they found their seats. The brightly-colored, cartoon-ey set, designed by Dennis Hassan, with jazzy music sets the tone. Children’s theatre can really be hit or miss, and it’s refreshing to see a professional theatre mounting productions by adults for children, and doing it so well. Willems and Warburton’s script is an excellent balance of humor that is enthralling to children and engaging for adults. La Puma’s music is delightful. Although the production may not be something adults without children in tow would normally seek out, the adults attending with their children will not be bored or disappointed. There is plenty of humor and joy in the production to go around.
Executive Artistic Director, Cynthia Fleming’s program note invites the children (and adults) in the audience to “giggle, cheer, and let loose” which is a bit contradictory to her on stage introduction, inviting the audience to get out their wiggles before the show so they can sit quietly during the production. This invitation was wholly unnecessary because the production is so captivating, well-paced, and short enough that there is hardly danger of losing the audience’s attention, regardless of age. There was a moment or two within the production where the characters interacted with children in the audience, which left me wanting a bit more of that sort of interplay.
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of puppetry in the production—and at how well the actors—especially Joseph Paul Branca as Pigeon, embraced the role of puppeteer. I have always been fascinated by the art of puppetry, and a basic rule of good puppetry is that the puppeteer, if visible, should be looking at what they want the audience to look at, which is usually the puppet itself. When a puppeteer’s focus is outside of the puppet, it is distracting, and confusing to the audience who is unsure whether they should be paying attention to the puppet or the puppeteer, creating a sort of two-headed and confusing visual character. This is the first time in a long time where I’ve seen this done right. Branca is a fantastic puppeteer. The skill with which he infuses the Pigeon puppet with emotion, humor and distinct vocalizations is captivating and I couldn’t to take my eyes off the puppet. The puppets themselves were rented from the Kennedy Center in Washington DC from the original production, and they are a great addition to the show. The other puppets throughout the production are cleverly manipulated—especially the dog, played by Laurel Morgan,
The costuming details by Sofia Paredes-Kenrick were well done and especially supportive of the puppeteers. In this type of production, it would not have worked well to dress the puppeteers in black and try and have them disappear from view. Instead, Paredes-Kenrick created fun costuming that lets the puppeteer become an extension of the puppet itself, further enhancing the skilled puppetry. Branca’s Pigeon costume managed this flawlessly. From the round blue knit cap, evocative of Pigeon’s head, the yellow and blue detailing throughout, and the wing-tip shoes, he became the Pigeon. The duckling chorus in their yellow raincoats are equally well done.
Penelope Caywood’s staging and choreography is exuberant and effective. The choreography gives a bit of a Wiggles vibe, which isn’t a bad thing—especially for the children in the audience, and the cast leans fully into the silliness. Caywood utilizes the space well. From the pop-in appearances in the windows set high in the wings, the use of the space far upstage in front of the rear cyclorama, to the full bus choreography down stage center, Pigeon is a visual feast. The Pigeon and Bus love ballad with dream ballet sequence is fantastic.
The cast does a good job of keeping up the energy and bigness of the production in a way that keeps the attention of the children in the audience without pandering or dumbing-down and losing the adults. They commit to the text and their characters with infectious gusto. Understudy Marc Nielsen, stepping in for an injured actor is phenomenal. Having recently seen Nielsen in SLAC’s summer production, and now in Pigeon, his comedic acumen and physical commitment to any role he plays is admirable. Branca’s emotive and powerful vocals as Pigeon are outstanding. The cast is overall cohesive, engaging and truly delightful.
SLAC’s regional premiere of Pigeon really soars, and at a 60 minute run time, is just right for a holiday outing with small children. Even older children and adults will enjoy this engaging show as a fun alternative to typical holiday fare offered elsewhere in the valley. Come flap your wings for an enjoyable evening with Pigeon and his friends.
