Mice and cats are “Natural Enemies,” and “it’s a well documented fact,” if you listen to Snowbell the cat in Stuart Little.
The story of a couple, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Little, who have a mouse for a son came to life at the Community Recreational Center on Kiely Boulevard this past weekend, thanks to the Roberta Jones Junior Theater Group.
When Mr. and Mrs. Little’s second son, Stuart, turns out to be a mouse, no one seems to care, although everyone seems to notice. Stuart rides the bus using tin foil dimes as payment, hides in newspapers when dogs chase him, substitute teaches a classroom of children and wins a boat race. Most importantly, he develops a love-hate relationship with his “natural enemy” Snowbell, the Little’s cat.
Rusty Ravenscraft, who was last seen as Colonel Pickering in RJJT’s production of My Fair Lady, plays Stuart. Emerald Lacy, who was most recently in RJJT’s performance of Sleeping Beauty Kids as Maleficent, is Snowbell. The duo’s rendition of “Natural Enemies” is quite possibly the highlight of the entire production. However, a close second and third are the pair of Ravenscraft and Hannah Brady (Margalo, the bird) singing “Stuart Little,” which includes an absolutely charming dance spelling out the letters in Stuart’s name and “West Seventy-Second Street,” sung during Stuart’s tin foil dime bus trip. “West Seventy-Second Street” contains an adorable tap dance routine by the bus’ passengers.
Despite Stuart’s perfectly comfortable life, he goes on an adventure upon finding out Margalo has left the Littles. Little does Stuart know that Margalo’s leaving had nothing to do with him or the way she was treated at his home, but due to that fiendish furball Snowbell.
While on his journey he meets a teeny well-off woman, Harriet Ames (Tabitha Jones) as well as a school superintendent (Deepa Sridhar). Stuart plans an evening on a canoe with Ames and the superintendent allows him to be her substitute teacher for the day. To know how Stuart’s “date” went, if his teaching trial turned into a disaster, if he ever finds Margalo or if he ever makes it back home, you’ll have to go see RJJT’s production of Stuart Little. Tickets are still available for next week’s performances and can be purchased through www.santaclara.gov under the link for Roberta Jones Junior Theater. Show times are Friday, November 18 and Saturday, November 19 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 20 at 2 p.m.