Feathers fly in chicken emergency at SCR

Tom Titus

“Is that a chicken joke?”

JoAnne Worley, who posed that question repeatedly on “Rowan and

Martin’s Laugh-In” a few eons ago, would feel right at home at the

opening production of South Coast Repertory’s Theater for Young

Audiences season.

Chicken jokes abound in “The Hoboken Chicken Emergency,” Chad

Henry’s stage adaptation of Daniel Pinkwater’s children’s book, to

which he’s added music and lyrics. You might say it’s poultry in

motion.

In this rib-tickling production, under the direction of Stefan

Novinski and musically directed by Tim Horrigan, the “emergency”

develops when young Arthur Bobowicz (Peter McDaid) is sent to the

market for a Thanksgiving bird but finds the counter bare. So he

follows a frizzy-haired scientist (Christopher Gerson, resembling

Christopher Lloyd) home and finds himself the bearer of a chicken the

size of Big Bird.

His parents (Robert Pike Daniel and Jennifer Pennington) cry fowl,

and the oversized clucker runs rampant through the neighborhood,

turning the citizens chicken, as it were. Soon the flashily dressed

mayor (Tom Shelton) is declaring a state of emergency, offering a

reward to whoever can de-chickenize the town, which heretofore was

noteworthy only for giving the world Frank Sinatra.

Enter a pseudo chicken-eradication expert (Preston Maybank), who,

after fleecing the city treasury, proceeds to fly the coop in the

mayor’s new limousine. Only the wisdom of a Chinese philosopher

(Gerson again) can save the day.

SCR’s all-adult cast -- most in multiple roles, save for the

splendid McDaid and Toby Johnson as Henrietta under all the chicken

feathers (also briefly known as “Dirty Louise”) -- delve for their

inner goofiness and succeed quite nicely. Maybank’s larcenous chicken

hunter swipes his scenes in his brief stage time, and Pennington’s

flustered Mama merits particular accolades.

A large element of the show’s effectiveness is its costuming.

Angela Balogh Calin has come up with some eye-catching, colorful

attire for most of the performers, and her oversized chicken outfit

is particularly noteworthy. Donna Marquet’s apartment-row setting

serves as a multifaceted backdrop, brightly lighted by Lonnie

Alcaraz.

“The Hoboken Chicken Emergency” opened last weekend on South Coast

Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage and continues with weekday

performances for schoolchildren. Young audience members may be

affected so much that they’ll convince their parents to prepare ham

for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal. After all, a boy’s best friend is

his chicken.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.