By Gretchen R. Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 6/9/05)

"There’s a monster in my closet!"

This exclamation from Emily (Christine Schindler) gets the plot rolling for The Children’s Theatre production "Monster in the Closet," a lively play that offers a happy perspective on what can be a challenging and scary subject for children: the closet monster.

This begs the question: what exactly is a closet monster?

For Emily, the monster-in-question, Murray (Kevin Leahy), is a blue, horned, dragon-like creature with a tail "as long as the Mississippi River" — and a passion for Emily’s video games. In fact, it is Murray’s love for video games that causes him to sneak out of Emily’s closet (where he is supposed to be stationed until dawn) before she is lulled to sleep by the nightly routine of The Sandman (Daniel Hyland), his protégé, Sandy (Joey Casey), and a troupe of ballerina-esque dreamweavers (Hayley Egart, Acadia Gribble, Caitlin Hammond, Kylee Self and Nora Walls).

Once Emily and best friend Stephanie (Addie Spencer) catch sight of Murray, the stunned friends arrange a six-girl sleepover and stakeout to catch the intruder. The result is a comical and enlightening look into the creative, and perhaps not-so-scary, world of the closet monster.

The theatre’s spacious stage, with the set designed by Nicci Knauss, looked like the scene of a Crayola paint set explosion. Color was everywhere, from an oversized pastel purple model train to a green, blue and yellow bedspread, all enhanced by a pink, multicolored backdrop. Stuffed dragons and horses, and a suspicious amount of The Cat in the Hat paraphernalia (auditions for the upcoming "Seussical!" were held this week), loaded the stage. A small TV sat stage right where children — and monsters — played video games periodically throughout the show.

The play, written by Angela Stewart and directed by Susan Alison Keady, provided visual and deliberate gags to keep the younger viewers entertained, and subtle jokes and clever dialogue for the benefit of mom and dad.

But even with the bright colors and entertaining writing, it was the energy and pizzazz of the child actors — like the sarcastic, yet endearing younger brother Tom (Pat Dwyer) and the big-word using student-genius Brain (Katie Rosenberg) — that stole the show. Spencer energized the production with her delivery of lines saturated with police idioms: "Put a silencer on it you guys. Brain is thinking."

All in all, "Monster in the Closet" and this talented group of young adults, provide a fun, age-appropriate and imaginative escape from the summer heat for parents and kids.