Fee Fi Fo Fum – Jack & The Beanstalk is kid-friendly fun.

As children’s stories go, this one was NOT a paint-by-the numbers production that played out to an interactive audience at Kelowna Community Theatre. Not even close. This slapstick version, directed by Christine Daley and stage-managed by Cheryl Speight, was more of a traditional British pantomime that gave Jack & The Beanstalk a romanticized twist on fabled storytelling.

What is a traditional British pantomime? These shows historically take place around Christmas time, encourage audience participation, have love triumph and villains redeemed, feature original songs and parodies of popular songs of the day, have the villain enter stage-left and the protagonist stage-right, and have the main female character played by a male. Let’s just say it’s an acquired taste.

The youngsters in the audience bought in from the first line, and in the cutest ways possible, were singing and shouting back lines (“take the bag, Jack…..and plant the beans”) at the actors and talking animals. Classic pantomime behavior. After intermission, a girl from the audience was brought on stage to contribute to the scene. There also were modern-day references to the President-elect of the United States, stay-at-home dads, and the familiar Law & Order dun-dun sound.

Not to be overlooked, this Paddy Malcolm adaptation was presented and acted by a group of 75 volunteers at Theatre Kelowna Society. These thespians and behind-the-scenes participants come in all ages, sizes, and theatrical ambitions. They will continue Beanstalking for three more late-November nights and 2 PM matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday.

“What you saw tonight was Jack and The Beanstalk meets the 21^st century,” said a relieved Daley after the show. “It was a successful opening night because there were smiling faces, everyone remembered their lines, and the audience was singing along. I’m proud of the entire crew as well as all the parents and grandparents.”

To be honest, I came to the theatre knowing the basics of the Jack & Beanstalk story. About 10 minutes into the action, there were characters and plot lines that had me scratching my head. Elaine, my wife, reasoned that this was creative storytelling with added elements for entertaining the kids. Very true. That explains the talking cow wearing different hockey jerseys, a purple-headed dragon, ghosts wearing sheets, a greedy villain who wanted to shoot people out of a cannon, and a wizard named Beano who asked every kid to spell out his name, as in B-E-A-N-O.

B-R-A-V-O to these standout performers:

George Walker – as Jack

Ashley Lewicki – as Bess (Jack’s love interest)

Bruce Newby – as Widow Goodheavens (dude looks like a lady)

Rick Maddocks – as Melvin Moneybags (the richest man in the Okanagan)

Corinne Marks – as Betty Bisher

Shannon Bracken – as Barbie Basher

Jason Woodford – as Beano

Keith Olson – as Giant Greedy Guts

Riegar Marks – as Clarabelle (the Jersey cow)

Rolen Marks – as Chicklet (the golden-egg laying hen)