CHILDREN’S THEATER : A Play Kids Can Take Lion Down

In its current incarnation at Dance, etc. Creative Arts Center, “Androcles and the Lion,” the classic tale of freedom earned and kindness repaid is a farcical verse play that is well-suited to the preschool-primary audience.

Androcles, a young slave, pulls a thorn from the paw of a lion. How Androcles came to be lost in the forest where he meets the lion, and how the lion has the opportunity to repay the boy’s kindness, are the stuff of broad comedy as played by this touring troupe of teen-age thespians known as Broadway on Tour Children’s Theatre.

Under the direction of Jim Gray, the production makes good use of brightly painted drops and colorful, cartoonish costumes. Some of the staging solutions are funny and imaginative in the time-tested tradition of strolling players, who must travel light and play all the parts themselves, even the role of “a wall at night.”

The performers are all likable and generous.

Curtis Andersen, with his fresh, Tom Sawyer looks, makes an ingenuous Androcles. His scheming seems noble given the nature of his cruel and tightfisted mistress, Mama Pantalona (played by Laura Marchant with a stoop and a cackle), plenty of painted wrinkles, and quite a bit of style to boot.

Heather Dickinson and Brad Spencer portray the lovesick neighbors, Isabella and Lelio, and Shalyce Wenk is the captain. Jeff Garvin, as the Lion, invites the audience to discover for itself the power of a good roar.

The entire show is under an hour long, and the company is available after the performance to sign autographs. It’s a fine way to spend an afternoon with a youngster.

‘Androcles and the Lion’

A Broadway on Tour Children’s Theatre production of the classic fable. Directed by Jim Gray. With Curtis Andersen, Jeff Garvin, Laura Marchant, Shalyce Wenk, Heather Dickinson and Brad Spencer. Production coordinator: Mary Haller. Set design: Neil Caplin/Production House. Costumes: Laurie Holden. Performances Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. through Oct. 13 at Dance etc. Creative Arts Center, 1215 E. Imperial Highway, Placentia. Admission: $5. (714) 491-2811.