‘Thumbelina’ filled with high energy

Life’s lesson told with music and dancing

Beth Colcord of La Crescenta is a homemaker and the mother of

fellow reviewer Mae Colcord.

BURBANK -- Creators at The Falcon Theatre in Burbank have put to

music the story about tiny Thumbelina, who was found in an orchid

plant by Lady Lovington, who ends up raising her as the daughter she

always wanted.

Lady Lovington, played hilariously by Karen Whipple, wants only

the best for Thumbelina, played by Natalie Lander, a theater major at

Pepperdine University. When Lady Covington finds out Thumbelina

thinks she must be married within two days in order to get her dream

job at Seaside Landscaping, she recruits the help of the island

fairy, Sandy Shores, to help Thumbelina find a husband.

During Thumbelina’s two-day hunt for a husband, we meet some of

the play’s best characters: Bobby Bullfrog, a surfing dude who hops;

Mitch Monkey, a swinging personal trainer; and Franco Flamingo,

bamboo arch builder by day, flamenco dancer by night. All seem to be

fine as prospective husbands until Sandy Shores helps Thumbelina

realize it is more important to love someone than to have the

perfect job.

The kids in the audience had lots of fun interacting with the

actors during the play, such as picking the flavor of sprinkles for

eclairs and by playing instruments during musical numbers.

Interaction with characters is the best part

Mae Colcord, 12, of La Crescenta, is a sixth-grader at Monte Vista

Elementary School.

The other kids and I really enjoyed the interaction with the

actors during “Thumbelina.” As the show began, I even got to hold

Lady Lovington’s umbrella while she was answering her cellphone.

“Thumbelina” is a very colorful play about Lady Lovington, who was a

wedding planner, her daughter, Thumbelina and an island fairy named

Sandy Shores. Thumbelina had a dream to become the chief of creative

planning design at Seaside Landscaping.

Thumbelina finds out she won’t get hired unless she is married, so

she sets out on a journey to find a husband. On her trip, she finds a

bullfrog who is a surfer, Mitch Monkey, a personal trainer, and

Franco Flamingo, who makes bamboo arches and dances the flamenco. I

really liked the bullfrog because he was so funny and talked like a

surfer dude.

One of my favorite parts was when they gave a few people from the

audience shakers and then asked the rest of the audience to clap so

we could play at Thumbelina’s wedding.