It’s late 1999 somewhere in Texas, and 7th-grader Calpurnia Tate (Aubriella Navarro) finds herself living in a largish family with several boys, aunts, maids and a wonderful old grandfather who is scientifically-oriented.
That’s lucky for Calpurnia, because this youngster is fascinated by science herself. She spends lots of time with Grandpa (Christopher Vettel), a retired but still fascinated scientist who is the grandfather I’d like to have had.
Calpurnia sees a few grasshoppers, notes that some are yellow and others green, and wants to know why and what’s the difference?
The women in the family aren’t the least bit interested in such questions. They want her to act like, you know, a girl, but Calpurnia just spends more time with Grandpa, who tells her science stories like the time he found a bat while out walking, and reminds her that it’s important to “take the moment” to appreciate the day.
Lambs’ Players in Coronado will be all too happy to tell (and sing) you their latest story, a local production with book and lyrics by local funnyman Omri Schein and set to music by Daniel Lincoln. The story is based on Jacqueline Kelly’s Newbery Award-winning novel.
The show is fast-moving, almost even exhausting as boys in the family – Harry (Max Leadley), Sam (Jacob Mears) and Travis (Cole D’Agostino) – reach the age to discover girls, leading Mom (Jacquelyn Ritz) to wonder why daughter Calpurnia is more interested in bugs, while Calpurnia’s best girlfriend Lula (Milly Cocanig), is a “proper” girl who sews and knits and does things girls are supposed to do.
Big kudos to local seventh-grader Aubriella Navarro, making a brilliant Lamb’s Players debut as up-and-coming scientist Calpurnia. Her joy of learning and disappointment at what her mom wants her to be are both amusing and a little sad to watch.
But the whole cast is terrific. Especially notable are the teens, who are universally excellent and fun to watch. I’d also like to see Christopher Vettel, an import from the Bay Area as Grandpa, onstage locally again.
Congratulations also to Mike Buckley and Jemima Dutra, for the timely set and costume designs; Nathan Peirson and Patrick Duffy for the fine lighting and sound and Jessica Couto for the props design.
The show lopes along lickety-split, lasting only 95 minutes with no intermission, so you don’t have time to ponder too much, with all that activity and the (perhaps a bit too loud) music provided by a four-piece band at the back of the stage.
If you’d like to know more of what happens here, grab a ticket to Lamb’s Players’ latest show and see it.
As Calpurnia puts it, “All you have to do is believe.”
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