Adults might not like 'Camp Nimrod,' but it'll wow teenagers

'camp nimrod for girls'

recommended

When: Through Oct. 10

Where: Live Bait Theater, 3914 N. Clark

Tickets: $20-$25

Call: (773) 871-1212

There is a time in the life of many the girl when her love for agood horse far outruns her love for a boy, good, bad or indifferent.And so it is in "Camp Nimrod for Girls," the cute and often cleverlittle musical that received its world premiere at Live Bait Theaterover the weekend.

The 90-minute show -- which might best be described as "NationalVelvet" meets "Equus" -- would unquestionably prove a great hit wereit to transfer to the theater at American Girl Place, that emporiumfor upscale suburban girls and their indulgent mothers. But, unlessviewed as a kind of nostalgic exercise in teenage "camp" (as intongue-in-cheek pop sendup, as opposed to sleepaway adventure), itdoesn't quite make the cut as an adult entertainment.

Based on a story by Martha Watterson, with a solidly structuredand sweetly funny book by Sharon Evans, Mary Scruggs and Wattersonand a zesty score by Robert Steel (music) and Scruggs (lyrics), "CampNimrod" conjures the world of summer camp, where mosquito bites viewith the bite of exploding hormones as a major irritant, and wherepeer pressure and cliques are all-powerful.

At Camp Nimrod, "The Catbirds" rule -- or at least these veteranfemale campers would like to believe they do -- and that includesbunkmates Charlotte (Katy O'Toole), the bitchy blond; Renee (AnnaMitcham), her deputy of sorts, and Margo (Sara C. Walsh), the geekybut outgoing girl. The new arrival is Jane (Michelle Dahlenburg,whose appealing voice is matched by a nicely believable poise). Amelancholy teen whose parents have just divorced, Jane has one greatcomfort: her equestrian skill.

The charming conceit in all this is that the four horses the girlsride are played by boys who have been outfitted in expressive equinemasks and costumes (the creations of the always masterful TatjanaRadisic). And when these four-legged creatures arrive at the barndoor, they change the stakes in this playfully anthropomorphicmusical.

It is the melancholy and softly persistent Butterscotch (lovelywork by Matthew Holzfeind) who forges an instant connection withJane. And when the boisterous real boys (Adam Hummel, JeffreyReuther, Matthew Rudy and Ryan Pfeiffer) come paddling across thelake for a weekend social at which they are hellbent on "scoring," itis Butterscotch who intervenes, saving Jane from the aggressive Randy(Pfeiffer is right on target) and from her own confused instincts.

Director Jay Paul Skelton, working with music director PhillipCaldwell and choreographer Brigitte Ditmars (whose minuet for girlsand horses is one of the most beguiling moments in the show), bringsjust the right light touch and high energy to the material. Anddesigner Brian Sidney Bembridge demonstrates once again why he is thefinest theatrical architect in town. His cabin set, with its plankwalls, barnyard door, trap-door hilltop and bales of hay, is aperfect little world.