By Jason and Alisha Hagey
The Salt Lake Acting Company takes its TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) seriously. And by seriously, we mean brilliantly. This year’s Children’s Play Season Add-On, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, bursts onto the stage with a mix of humor, heart, puns on every level, and rock-and-roll energy. Adapted from the beloved picture book, the production transforms a simple story about self-expression into a vibrant, laugh-out-loud celebration of individuality that delights audiences of all ages.
Mo Willems (Script and Lyrics) is a genius. It is that simple. Whether creating a picture book or translating that picture book into a “rock experience,” Willems does so with wit and intelligence. He writes with incredible humor that trusts children to meet him at his level. His work is honest. Willems recalls precisely what it was like to be small, inquisitive, and unsure of anything. Then, he transforms that memory into something that truly connects with his audience. When he moves from page to stage, Willems opens the lens of his world. The book’s central joke, about a naked mole rat getting dressed, which is related to being oneself, becomes a miniature cultural saga on stage. He honors the absurdity at the heart of the story and makes it something even deeper by turning his stage play into a tale about naked mole rats discovering fashion, as if they were discovering contraband. The result is purpose without sermon. And his audience eats it up because it communicates perfectly with them. Accepting yourself and others as you all are is the resounding lesson.
In complete harmony with Willems, Penelope Caywood (Director, Choreographer, & Music Director) channels all the fun with lucious love and delicious direction. Caywood revels in the work of the imagination – notably, the imagination of a child – and every single note, every turn of phrase, every gesture is calculated for maximum impact in exciting a kid’s mind to see that which is hard to express in words. By the end, even the adults in the audience have been drawn into the realm of the naked mole rats and are reliving their own childhoods vicariously. Caywood uses the stage with inventiveness, keeping the audience captivated from the first song through the final bows. Stage pictures are clear. Motivations are understood. The world feels real. And this is thanks to Caywood’s understanding of what it takes to make a theatrical production both entertaining and profound.
The score for Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is a vibrant celebration of classic rock. Deborah Wicks La Puma (Music) crafts a score that serves as an energetic primer for young audiences. She does so with clear inspiration from legendary artists such as David Bowie, Queen, Heart, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. La Puma harnesses the dynamic energy of rock-and-roll to powerfully tell the story of a lovable, yet unconventional, mole rat. The effect is sheer pleasure to experience.
The design for the show can be summed up in two words: Color Harmony. And maybe a third: Wow. Gage Williams (Set Designer) gives us both a bustling mole colony and a full-on rock concert stage, creating a playground where absolutely anything can happen. The magic starts the moment you step inside the theater: suddenly, you’re tunneling through glowing underground caverns carved out by very stylish mole rats. Their world pops with bold oranges and yellows. Dennis Hassan (Costume Designer) somehow finds the dreamiest shades to match. The mole onesies? The perfect pink. Every outfit is bright, daring, and absolutely vibing with the set. And Grand-pah’s suit? A showstopper all on its own.
Jesse Portillo (Lighting Designer) pulls off a dazzling balancing act, illuminating this bright playground while still giving us that electric concert feel. Meanwhile, Erika Ahlin-Bird (Props Designer) sprinkles the whole show with magic. The “television screens” for the news reporters, complete with hilarious ticker tape that zips right over kids’ heads and lands delightful winks at the adults, are just the beginning. The mole rats’ musical instruments, designed to look wonderfully flat like they leapt straight off the book’s pages, are another stroke of genius. Every prop is a total chef’s kiss.
We agree with Joseph Paul Branca’s (Wilbur) actor bio assertion and believe that he indeed should “continue his lifelong journey through interpreting the works of Mo Willems.” While some actors are perfect for Shakespeare (and this doesn’t exclude Branca from being a consummate Shakespearean actor), others excel at Willems. Branca happens to be one of the few. His greatness as a Willemsian actor stems from a potent blend of uninhibited physical comedy, rapid-fire emotional shifts, and his infectious, unapologetic sense of play.
The rest of the cast are equally TYA superstars.
Ostensibly, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is about Wilbur, but the show is, ultimately, an ensemble piece. Scotty Fletcher (Venti, H&M Singer), Katie Lobrot (Tall, H&M Singer), and Alexa Shaheen (Grande, H&M Singer) prove they can completely shed adult self-consciousness and fully inhabit the logic of a naked mole rat. Hyperbolic emotional energy drives their performance, and they never shy away from the absurd. They have the vocal elasticity to be expressive, the physical prowess to be honest in the small stakes, and display exceptional chemistry and sensitivity with their scene partners. Fletcher has incredible comic timing. Lobrot possesses the technical precision of a quick-change artist with a genuine heart. Shaheen effortlessly elevates simple problems, imbuing them with the emotional weight of tragedy or triumph. They are a flawless trio.
Matthew Tripp (Grand-pah, H&M Singer, Stark Naked, Announcer) and Sophie Jean White (Weather Mole, H&M Singer, Potential Customer, Secret Service), meanwhile, bring a necessary ballast to the show’s energy, delivering the news of the mole rat colony journey with the gravity of seasoned reporters and the deadpan brilliance of puns reminiscent of Tim Vine and Stewart Francis. They are masters of the Mo Willems style of fourth-wall breaking, seamlessly pulling the audience into the narrative’s orbit. Speaking directly to the young audience members, they transform every aside and moment of confusion into a shared, conspiratorial experience. Tripp’s fantastic turn as Grand-Pah is a standout. Their embodiment of the colony’s patriarch is equal parts side-splitting and sincere.
By the time Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed hits its final beat, the show feels like it’s burst into pure joy and imagination with a little rock-and-roll mischief tossed in. Kids head out dancing, adults head out grinning, and plenty of folks probably start wondering if they should try on something bold and unexpected. With Willems’ clever humor, Caywood’s playful touch, and a creative team firing on all cylinders, this production does more than entertain. It pulls you in, lifts your spirits, and sends you back into the world feeling a bit brighter. Honestly, it’s a perfect production and a lovely reminder that being yourself is always the best choice.
This exciting and laugh-filled 65-minute experience includes a post-show Q&A with the cast.
Salt Lake Acting Company presents Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience
Script and Lyrics by Mo Willems, Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma
168 West 500 North, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Box Office: (801) 363-7522
Open 11 AM – 5 PM, Monday – Friday with extended hours during the run of the show.
Opening Night will be Friday, December 5th at 7 PM.
Following the opening, the production will run through December 30th on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 12 PM and 3 PM, with added performances on Monday, December 22nd, Tuesday, December 23rd, Monday, December 29th, and Tuesday, December 30th at 12 PM and 3 PM.
Tickets are $17 for Children, and $27 for Adults
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Audiences can purchase Mo Willems books at the theatre thanks to The King’s English Bookshop, donate new or gently used pajamas and diapers for The Children’s Service Society of Utah, and take a stroll through SLAC’s Green Room Gallery featuring art from students of The Visual Art Institute, making for a memorable outing, perfect for the whole family.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
Audio Described Performance
Saturday, December 27th at 3 PM
Sensory Performance
Saturday, December 27th at 3 PM
Further accessibility information is available on our website, or by contacting our Accessibility Coordinator, Emily Sinclair at Emily@SaltLakeActingCompany.org
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