Animals rule in ‘Great Squirrel Uprising’

Most children’s theater comes neatly packaged in a message, and “The Great Squirrel Uprising,” the new offering from the Laguna Playhouse’s Youth Theater, is no different. It’s aimed at that rather sorry species of insect life, the litterbug.

New York’s Central Park is the setting for Dan Elish’s pocket-sized musical in which furry and feathered creatures, fed up with the incessant scattering of trash by careless human visitors, rise up in protest, blocking access to the verdant area with summer’s big crowds just around the corner.

Elish takes a squirrel’s-eye view of the animals’ common enemy — human beings — but one such biped, 10-year-old skateboarder Sally, aligns herself firmly with the rodents and birds in their quest for cleaner surroundings. This sets off a squabble that reaches all the way up to the mayor, who’s incidentally up for reelection.

Director Donna Inglima has fashioned an attractive, kid-friendly production, aided immensely by scenic designer Wally Huntoon, who transforms the vast playhouse stage into a slice of Central Park, and costumer Dwight Richard Odle, whose squirrels and feathered friends, along with one precocious mouse, are particularly presentable.

Little Sally, a perky Lauren Brody Stewart, is the sparkplug of the production as she worms her way into the heart of the human-hating Scruff, a particularly militant squirrel. As enacted by Darius Rose, he’s a tough customer, the sort who’d be manning the barricades in “Les Miserables” until the last man was down.

Franklin, a pigeon and Scruff’s lieutenant in the uprising, is cutely portrayed by Vikky Hogan, while Mort, the overeducated mouse, is a scene-stealing turn for Jodi Naglie. Then there’s the big rat, Grimbly, a clever cameo by Steve Josephson, artistic director of Laguna’s other theater, Gallimaufry Performing Arts, who joins Rose in a spirited duo about “72nd Street.”

The first act’s big finish comes courtesy of choreographer Ellen Prince, who populates the stage with all 31 performers for the high-stepping production number, “The Magic of New York.” As Act II opens, the birds take their turn — two countrified New England crows in particular. Jackie Melbon and Claire Day provide the “corn pone” humor for their corn-fed characters.

Charlie McClung has a deft comic turn as the poll-conscious mayor, while Jordan Sandfer and Cody Sprague go for the easy laughs as a pair of doughnut-devouring cops. Alex Logan and Carla DeFraine are Sally’s sympathetic mom and dad.

Huntoon’s beautiful park setting evokes a spirit of Halloween with its dark skies and orange office building lights. Odle’s many costumes, especially the bush-tailed squirrel outfits, are equally effective.

The live, offstage five-piece orchestra, conducted by Jimmy Vann, keeps the tempo brisk, and young Lauren Stewart’s voice is a particular treat.

The show may be aimed at the sandbox set, and three-quarters of Sunday’s audience may have been pre-school girls clutching their dolls, but there’s plenty of enjoyment for the older folks as well in “The Great Squirrel Uprising.”