The funny side of bed-wetting
BY BOB FISCHBACH
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
A play about a bed-wetting princess is unusual enough.
But SNAP! Productions' "The Princess and the Pee," which opens Friday, has drawn attention for several
more reasons.
It's the first time SNAP has done a children's play. SNAP! is known for tolerance-themed shows that
often include gay characters. No gay characters here, but definitely a message of tolerance.
Its director, M. Michele Phillips, marks her return to Omaha's theater scene after spending five years in
Minneapolis. Phillips won awards from the Theatre Arts Guild for several past shows, including
"Falsettos" for SNAP, "Lend Me a Tenor" at the now-defunct Dundee Dinner Theatre, and "The Diary of
Anne Frank" at the Chanticleer.
Its set designers, Roxanne and Dan Wach, have turned a scaffold on wheels into a very tall bed, the
centerpiece of a whimsical, inventive visual approach to the show.
And its author, Lily Baber Coyle, will visit Omaha to see the first full production of her play. Coyle will be
available for a talk-back with the audience after the Sept. 2 performance.
"I wanted to create a princess girls would really not want to be," Coyle said by phone from a Minneapolis restaurant. "That's why she's a bed wetter. No offense to bed wetters. I was one until I was 10. But no kid will walk out saying, 'I want her tiara.'"
Coyle said the whole princess and Barbie stage had hit her daughters, ages 3 and 6, and she found herself annoyed.
"Who's gonna become one?" she asked. "It's a really unrealistic career goal. But even if you buy her nothing but Tonka trucks, she's still going to want a Barbie. They get obsessed with appearance."
When Coyle thought of role models for her girls, their baby sitter, Gina, came to mind.
"She's had a hard life. She's African-American, brought up by her grandmother. Her mom struggled with addiction. But she's got a full-ride scholarship to start studying pre-med this fall. She's average-looking. But if my daughters grow up to be half as thoughtful and studious and loving as she is, I'll be thrilled."
Gina is the basis for the play's 12-year-old heroine, Yolanda, who waits on the bladder-troubled princess. Coyle calls it a "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" kind of play. Its central theme: In the great scheme of things, appearances can be pretty unimportant.
Phillips directed a staged reading of the play in Minneapolis in May 2005. Though kids liked the show, she was more amazed by the reaction of adults who saw it. She credited Coyle's "wacky, clever writing. Adults like the jokes, and kids like the rest: a giant cha-cha-cha snake, a crushing boar who bores his prey to death and then turns into a real boor.
"It's not 'Shrek,' but it plays on a couple different levels," Coyle agreed. "The electricity in the air at the reading was palpable. People couldn't stop talking about it. It's just the goofiest darned play, and it's fun."
Phillips recommended Coyle's play to SNAP!, which snapped it up. The two met through Coyle's husband, Omaha native Patrick Coyle, whom Phillips directed in "Luv" at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Patrick Coyle works as an actor, director and filmmaker in Minneapolis.
Review: Fairy tale spoof's bathroom humor a class act
BY BOB FISCHBACH
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The whimsical world of Cray-la-lo is a colorful, offbeat, magical place where a 12-year-old girl forms an outstanding plan that solves everybody's problems. Even her own.
SNAP Productions' "The Princess and the Pee," which premiered Friday, is one of a kind.
Minneapolis playwright Lily Baber Coyle's fable for children is just as good at cracking up adults with its wacky characters, fun use of language and elaborately spun yarn.
In this upside-down place, the princess is a pampered bed wetter, while the heroine, Yolanda (Andrea Brooks), turns out to be an indentured servant assigned to change her mattress every night.
By the time it's all over, not only will the bed stay dry, but the heroine's family, the once-great jumprope entertainers the Flying Yumbusses, will be restored to their former glory.
But not before Yolanda faces the terrors of the Enchanted Forest, where the giant purple whooping crane and the fierce cha-cha-cha-cha snake and the crushing bore of a boar try to foil her plans.
Liz Heim is a stitch as a grumpy old bedchamber servant to the princess, who dares not tell the royals who's to blame for the soggy problem. She's just as funny as the hysterical old queen, who has taken to her bed for 18 years over a stubbed toe.
Jerry Evert holds court as one of three goofy princes who come courting. He's from the Kingdom of Kiltsoplaid, and his Scottish brogue is thick enough to cut with a wee knife. Another prince (Jay Huse) is fond of words that all start with the same letter, the perfect peculiarity to pep up pipsqueaks.
Denny Maddux steals every scene he's in as a droll herald, bleating an offkey horn. Then he puts on a snout and horned helmet to deliver the crushing boar's monotonous - and highly entertaining - stories.
Among new faces, Colleen O'Doherty stands out as the lovely but addled princess. She's even better as a powerful witch who delivers all her lines in cheerleader cadences, complete with pompoms.
I know it makes no sense on paper, but trust me - Coyle and director M. Michele Phillips have teamed to produce a very funny, highly original piece of theater. Thankfully, it delivers a message of empowerment to young girls while it entertains and reminds us that you shouldn't judge by appearances.
The kingdom’s set by Dan and Roxanne Wach, plus costumes by Nancy Ross, go a long way on a short budget, cleverly contrasting bright colors against black background. Dave Podendorf’s background tunes and Mark Cramer’s video footage provide crowning touches of enchantment.
Children and Adults Will Go Crazy Over Princess and the Pee
By Julien R. Fielding
The Daily Record
No one knows the saying "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" better than SNAP! Productions. The theater had its director and cast in place for Harold and Maude and things were underway. Then Samuel French pulled the rights, because it wants to turn the play into a musical. With only several weeks before the show was scheduled to open, SNAP! needed to come up with a solution. That’s when M. Michele Phillips, a SNAP! board member, came to the rescue. While living in Minneapolis, Minn., she had been in a staged reading for The Princess and the Pee or Yolanda’s Outstanding Plan, and knew it would be a good replacement.
The fable is set in the far off land of Cray-la-lo, where there lives a dazzlingly beautiful Princess (Colleen O’Doherty) who has been "so mollycoddled her entire life that she has no resources to draw upon," said Phillips. "Everything has been done for her to the nth degree. She doesn’t even know to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. Because she wets her bed, everyone in the kingdom has to give up their mattresses." Serving as an intern to the Princess is Yolanda Yumbuss (Andrea Brooks), offspring of the now disgraced Famous Jumping Yumbusses – the Jump Rope Champions of the Kingdom – and who is the real heroine of the play. Her task is to change the Princess’s mattress every night and lull her to sleep with a bedtime tale. Being a smart girl, Yolanda asks a lot of questions, and that leads to her being exiled to the Enchanted Forest, where she must face several challenges, including a man-eating snake, a Crushing Bore, and an evil witch. "Her quest also is to restore the Jumping Yumbusses to their former glory and untwist this twisted kingdom," Phillips said. "Lily Barber Coyle wrote this story for her two little girls because most of the role models today are so surface."
Even though it was intended for children, The Princess and the Pee doesn’t conform to most children’s theater. For instance, it is 80-minutes long, about 30 minutes longer than most children’s plays, and it’s "cleverly written and full of double entendres," she said. In fact, in Minneapolis, the children enjoyed the show, but it was the adults who went crazy over it. That gave Phillips the idea that the response might just be the same in Omaha. "For example, one of the princes speaks in alliteration; only adults get what he’s saying," she added. "Adults also get all of the word play and jokes." Just as in The Princess and the Pea, the theme of his similarly named show is that "apparences can be deceiving, so never judge a book by its cover." It also teaches its audience that "if you have tenacity, you can achieve anything," Phillips said. "It’s the cutest play and it has a great lesson to teach about diversity, because Yolanda is a young girl of color."
Playing the lead is Andrea Brooks, who is performing in her first major role. "I threw her into the fire with this," she said. From the way that Brooks read the part, Phillips knew immediately that she was the perfect choice for Yolanda: "She has an inner glow and is so smart. She’s not a flashy person. She’s very reserved just like Yolanda." (Coyle based the character on her daughters’ babysitter.) A number of the cast members are SNAP! regulars, including Echelle Childers, who not only plays Andrea’s mom in the play but who is, in real life, her mother; Liz Heim, Denny Maddux, Mark Cramer, and Jerry Evert. Other actors include Jay Huse, Ruth Rath, Emily Jane Thompson and Tyler Swain. (Many of these performers had been cast in Harold and Maude.)
Because she only had three weeks to pull the show together, Phillips is making use of costumes found in the Shelterbelt/SNAP! closet – "I wanted to do this show as simple as possible" – and the set, designed by Dan and Roxanne Wach, will be spare but functional. Phillips said that she would like to see a lot of children in the audience, and added that it’s appropriate for anyone 4-years and older: "It’s just a fun night at the theater."
The Princess and the Pee or Yolanda’s Outstanding Plan will run from Aug. 24 to Sept. 17 at 3225 California St. Shows begin at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 6 p.m. on Sundays, except on Sept. 17 when it will begin at 2 p.m. For reservations, call 341-2757 or go to www.snapproductions.com. Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for students and senior citizens; and $5 for children 12 and younger.
SNAP! Productions is a nonprofit theater organization whose mission is to provide educational and humanistic support of AIDS-related programs and to promote understanding and acceptance of all members of the community through artistic expression.
Review: Pee Time
Fable’s potty humor pleasing to adults, still appropriate for children
From the Omaha City Weekly
By Julien R. Fielding
Stepping into the SNAP!/Shelterbelt theater on Saturday, I was struck by a rather large gathering of children. In fact, for a moment, I actually wondered if I had come to the right place. You don’t generally see 4-foot humans running around this theater at 33rd and California. But then you also don’t tend to see such shows as “The Princess and the Pee or Yolanda’s Outstanding Plan” presented here. (Maybe at the Rose, but not here.) What you do see is something like “Cabaret,” “Christmas with the Crawfords,” or “Stop Kiss,” shows that entertain while also raising the issues of diversity and tolerance. But as one comes to discover, “Princess and the Pee” also serves this purpose only it’s for a much younger audience.
This fable, written by LilyBaber Coyle, is set in the far off land of Cray-la-lo, a strange place that’s in serious need of a psychiatrist. For example, after having stubbed her toe while jump roping, the queen (Liz Heim) has been bedridden for 18 years. Furthermore, because of this accident, all jump ropes have been banned and the famous jump-roping Yumbuss family have been shunned.
To keep his daughter (Colleen O’Doherty) as beautiful (and useless) as possible, the king has assigned a number of servants to cater to her every need. Not only does she have a personal fitness trainer, but she also has someone who suctions out her nasal passages. But despite her beauty and charm, the princess has a serious problem – she wets her bed or, as they say, she has too much “dewyness.” But instead of acknowledging the problem, the servants cover it up by changing and then burning her mattress.
And this is where Yolanda (Andrea Brooks) comes in. She’s a member of the shamed Yumbuss family and since birth has been made an indentured servant to the palace. But she’s not a typical drone who blindly follows orders. And because of her levelheaded approach, she’s fated to become the “savior” of Cray-la-lo. The story has other subplots, such as three princes vying for the hand of the princess; and Yolanda being exiled to the Enchanted Forest, where there lives a man-eating snake, a boarish boar (Denny Maddux) and Bad Bablulu (Colleen O’Doherty), the resident witch.
“The Princess and Pee” has some real shining moments, mostly created by Denny Maddux, who as the Herald delivers some great adlibs; Heim, as the queen and Beauty Rest, the person in charge of changing the princess’s mattresses; and O’Doherty, who is hilarious as a cheerleading Bad Babalulu. Children also will enjoy a blackout scene during which a giant purple whooping crane defecates on the Crushing Boar.
Should you see the play if you don’t have children? That’s open to debate. Sometimes shows are aimed at children only to be more enjoyable for adults. “The Incredibles,” “Over the Hedge” and “Emperor’s New Groove” come instantly to mind. To fully enjoy “The Princess and the Pee,” I think you probably want to have a tot on your lap. The few children I saw on Saturday night seemed to be having a good time, and that elevated their parents’ appreciation. So if you have children, nieces, nephews or grandchildren, take them to a theater that they will probably never get a chance to see the inside of again and let them experience a World Premiere.
Most notably, they will learn that beauty isn’t just about how you fix your hair or clean your pores, but how you act. Maybe someone should send Britney Spears, the Simpson sisters, and Lindsey Lohan an invitation to this show. The play continues through Sept. 17.
Review: When You Gotta ‘Go’
by Victor Hahn
From The Reader
Sophisticated children’s theater these days is not a mere re-telling of the Brothers Grimm, or cutesy fluff that bores the pants off the adults who have to sit through it. Nowadays, the storylines are complex, absurd, thought-provoking and almost always hysterically funny.
Not only does SNAP!’s latest production The Princess and the Pee live up to all that, it delivers a message to children and adults alike. Yes, SNAP! is a theater known for gay-themed plays and characters, and shows about diversity and tolerance. The Princess and the Pee was not a planned part of the season, but when the rights to Harold and Maude were pulled out from under SNAP! at the last minute, a backup show was needed, and playwright Lily Baber Coyle came to the rescue. The result is a wonderfully wacky fable that takes a familiar story and turns it upside down in some very clever ways. Although this first children’s play is a big diversion for SNAP! the message of acceptance still comes through.
The setting is the faraway kingdom of Cray-la-lo, and the Princess, played by Colleen O’Doherty, is a snobbish kind of girl who has everything done for her, even to the point of having her eyelashes numbered. The heroine, Yolanda Yumbuss, comes to the castle to become a servant of the princess. Her job? Well, let’s just say this princess is so snobbish, she doesn’t even bother to get up in the middle of the night to “go.” The mattresses must be changed every night, and thus more mattress makers must be found, which creates mayhem in the kingdom. Yolanda, played by Andrea Brooks, is given the nasty job of catering to the Princess’ incontinence, although we find out she herself has a colorful history with the kingdom that involves jump ropes. Confused yet? Don’t be — this is children’s storytelling at its best: goofy, fast-paced and with a point when all is said and done.
Liz Heim is the inattentive Queen mother, who no doubt has inspired her daughter into her silly, “uppity” ways. We then work in three very different princes who vie for the princess’ hand in marriage; the Deep Dark, Enchanted Forest where the “Cha Cha Cha Cha” Snake lives; and the “Crushing Boar” who puts people to sleep with his incessant gabbing about nothing in particular. Denny Maddux is great as the “bore,” as well as the Herald, who narrates the story throughout with much fanfare and trumpet blowing — literally. Yes, peeing and pooping, courtesy of the Giant Purple Pooping Whooping Crane (whom we thankfully never see), are part of the storyline, not in ways that are gross but in ways that children can understand and relate to. Kid gloves, in other words. No embarrassing scenarios, this is all done with a fun and fertile imagination.
The Princess and the Pee is done with a high degree of professionalism, considering it was put together in a matter of weeks. Even a few flubbed lines by Brooks as Yolanda didn’t dampen the overall spirit of the performance. There were even a few bits of video trickery that came across like campy MTV, which provided a nice diversion.
The playwright was in town from Minneapolis to see her show performed and to answer questions from the audience on the night of this review. Coyle said her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, influenced her to write this story, since both of them are now into the “Barbie doll” stage of life where the glamour of being a princess consumes them. Coyle said she wanted to show children there’s more to life than appearances.
The Princess and the Pee runs at SNAP! 32nd and California, through Sept. 17, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee as the final performance. Call 341.2757 or visit snapproductions.com for more information.
Andrea Brooks
At only 15, Brooks is tackling the lead, though not the title character, in The Princess and the Pee, the SNAP! Productions show now playing at the Shelterbelt Theatre. It’s the first major role for the Central High honor-roll student who also finds time for volleyball. As a teenager, her mother, Echelle Brooks Childers, starred as the Bali Hai beauty in South Pacific at the Omaha Community Playhouse.
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