If "Gomez and the Catnip Mouse" is not a play, a cartoon or a movie, then what is it?
Those who attend tonight's performance at the Gladstone Mfg. Co. will know immediately, but to do away with the suspense, here's the answer:
It's a play, a movie, and a cartoon.
But "Gomez and the Catnip Mouse" is much, much more than that. It is a circus, paper-mache animals, a tightrope walker, belly dancers, a juggler and plenty of people dressed in outrageous costumes.
From the moment Gomez (alias Ken Wikowsky) and three feline buddies open the show with "In the Garbage by the Moonlight" in four-cat harmony, to the last scene when the circus has been saved, the program is solid energy.
"Gomez" is basically a children's musical performed by a homologous group of Columbians known as the Micro-Psychotic Theatrical Ensemble.
The plot has the key elements of good drama: love hate and conflict. The story, song ideas and lyrics were born in the mind of playwright-producer Jerome Wheeler, a native Columbian who gave up a banking career in Boston to return here to tap "the creative resources."
Gomez is a mangy circus cat who has become jaded. He's seen and done it all, and his lethargy has become a matter of deep concern for his master, the tightrope walker.
"In the midst of all this, the circus meets with a crisis because the villain, A. Gruesome Bile, comes in and announces he's going to foreclose on the circus unless they come up with $500 by that afternoon's performance," Wheeler said during a break from a hectic rehearsal schedule.
"The dilemma is the fact that they always perform in the afternoon for the children for free. The villain says you should charge these kids to save the circus."
Will the circus be saved? Will the children have to pay? Will Gomez regain his love for the only life he has ever known? The ending is simply too good to disclose.
"Gomez" is a multimedia production. At the end of the play there will be an actual simulated circus with beautiful paper-mache animals on parade, a real tightrope walker and even a juggler.
The opening is also somewhat novel. A movie screen will be rolled out on the front of the stage, where animations drawn by local artist Gail Shen and filmed by Columbian Bob Dyer will be projected. Dyer said it took three days to draw and film the four-minute cartoon.
How did the Micro-Psychotic Theatrical Ensemble come about? Wheeler said that when he returned to Columbia he sensed there was a lot of creativity "floating around here just looking for an outlet to plug into.
"The ideas for the ensemble just sort of grew out of that need in our production of 'Heaven's Bright Babies.'"
"Heaven's Bright Babies" started out as a song and eventually evolved into a multimedia stage performance that took Columbia by surprise. Hundreds of people had to be turned away from Gladstone as a result of the response it generated.
The people who form the ensemble come from a wide background. The Group started out with five people and snowballed to the point where there are now 40 cast members and several backstage workers.
Curtain time today is 7:00 PM. Children under 12 will be admitted free to tonight's performance and the Saturday matinee at 1:30 PM. Other performances will be at 8:00 and 10:00 tomorrow and Saturday. Admission for adults is $2.00.
| Life in Frozen Hell | Songs of Little Bohemia | Low Rent Theatre | Loyal Order of Hinkson | Awards Received |
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