Calling the young and the young at heart: There’s a fantastical world hiding inside The DeLuxe Theater, where Elizabeth A.M. Keel’s Tooth & Tail is making its world premiere courtesy of Mildred’s Umbrella.
In the shadow of the Unforgiving Mountains and bordering the South Mystic Sea is a land called Farfallen, where two young women, both described as “wild at heart,” are unlikely but dear friends. One is Jessica Glass, a shop girl who considers herself little more than a mannequin “gathering dust in the eternal shop.” The other is the mostly feral, kind of civilized Vixen LaFey, who was raised by foxes for years before being found living in the nearby mountains.
The pair’s usual routine of reading books together is interrupted when Jessica reveals that bandits have returned to the mountains and asks Vixen to come home with her, where it’s safe. Vixen resists and is later visited by a knight, Sir Thomas Reynard. Thomas is leading his men against the bandits and, as he tells Vixen, “could use a native’s help.” Vixen’s dream of being a knight isn’t the only reason she accepts. She and Thomas quickly take a shine to each other, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Jessica. Jealous and scared, Jessica seeks out a witch. She wants a curse to keep Thomas and Vixen apart.
Fast forward to years later, when a princess named Plumeria, the sole heir to a spice empire, is kidnapped. A now adult Vixen, working as a mercenary and accompanied by a dragon named Flicker, accepts the mission to rescue the princess from the pirates who kidnapped her – pirates led by a Captain Jessica Glass.
If it isn’t obvious, Tooth & Tail is wonderfully adventurous and playful, and – even better – there’s nary a damsel in distress to be seen. You will, however, find a wide-eyed hero-in-training, achingly human emotions creating a villain, haunting horses (or night-mares), were-dragons, trees that bloom socks, and much more. Keel clearly has a knack for worldbuilding and seems to have a lot of fun with it. The story leaves Keel a lot of room to explore the world, which is one of the play’s strengths. Another is its humor, which flows organically from a story that is itself compelling, with just enough twists and turns to sustain the runtime. But, in terms of the narrative, while I appreciate the lack of distressed damsels, less appreciated is that fact that it’s a man that comes between our two lady friends. Also, call me boring, but if there is narration, I’d kind of like a dedicated narrator.
That said, no matter what Keel’s script throws at him, director Robert Kimbro has a firm grasp on the material. Keel’s script also doesn’t skimp on the swashbuckling, and props to Kimbro, Fight Choreographer Justin Gibbons, and the cast, for delivering some beautifully effective combat scenes. Kimbro uses every inch of space throughout the show, including the aisles that flank the theater, to expand the world as much as possible, as well as off-stage areas. (Yes, I understand and forgive the production for not giving me a larger-than-life dragon on stage.)
There’s a Peter Pan-esque quality to Amy K. Barnes’s Vixen when we meet her. A wild child, she eats bugs, crawls around and sniffs people. Barnes plays this version of Vixen just as well as the more sophisticated and self-assured Vixen we meet years later. Elissa Cuellar’s Jessica Glass begins as a study in opposites with Vixen. Jessica is stiff and prim, until the fear of losing her friend (not to mention her only connection to the dreams of adventure she has but is too afraid to pursue) pushes her to panic and then, eventually, the role of a villain.
The scene-stealing Cat Thomas is the precocious Princess Plumeria. It is a delight to watch Thomas embody Plumeria’s downright joy at being kidnapped (or, as she calls it, her “first holiday”), her relish at using certain new words, and her spunky attitude.
Dillon Dewitt’s Sir Thomas Reynard is an unbelievably earnest and likable knight. Christie Guidry earns some well-deserved laughs as the drunken Hooch and scores some hero points as Corporal Molly Zephyr. Arianna Bermudez’s rhyming witch Grainne is an interesting and important character, but Bermudez faces quite the challenge in timing those rhyming schemes.
Jeffrey R. Villines plays a bone-wielding member of the pirate crew, but it’s his Sean Connery-inspired King Ivy that is most memorable. Similarly, Mara McGhee’s sneezy Snotbite is nothing compared to the emotional-turned-self-possessed Queen Stone.
Danielle Aldea Hodgins’s set and costume designs bring a lot of whimsy to the production. The trees made of wildly arranged planks, the torn curtains that drape the stage, the Stocking Forest and the monsters that reside within – there’s a lot to look at and consider in this world, and the wide array of colorful costumes, from the frills and ruffles to the hats for every occasion, perfectly match the wearer. Further enhancing the world is Edgar Guajardo’s lighting and sound choices, from simple birds chirping in the background to the almost grotesque sounds of contorting and changing that occur.
Finally, I’m not going to go into detail, but there’s a little dragon that makes an appearance in this show. If I had walked out of the theater and they were selling replicas of that little dragon in the lobby, I would have bought one, making this officially the first play I’ve seen in this city where I’ve wanted to buy merch. Just saying. Also, very cool is the design of the horses and the puppets from Greg Cote that stand in for the king and queen.
In a way, Tooth & Tail is theater at its purest: It has all the charm of children playing make believe in the living room with all the skill of a team of professionals behind it. Which means a good time without tearing up mom’s curtains in the process.
Performances of Tooth and Tail will continue at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday through May 13 at The DeLuxe Theater, 3303 Lyons. For more information, visit mildredsumbrella.com. Pay as you can.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
