On March 19, I was invited to review a play based on the children’s storybook, “Skippyjon Jones: Snow What” at the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center.

This piece was about a cat whose imagination took him to an icy snow world with his Chimichangos to rescue a fair maiden from her frozen prison, where she was trapped by the wicked witch, Bruja.

During the show, one of my favorite actresses was Anna Paloma, who played Ju Ju Bee and Nieve Que. There was an obvious strength in the characters, which worked well for the parts.

In the first two songs she played the annoying little sister of Skippyjon. Then, in Skippyjon’s imagination, Paloma played the Princess who had been stuck in an ice block for a long time, awaiting a prince.

I would also like to note the fine performance of Zach Aguilar, who played Jilly Boo and Don Diego. Jilly Boo was another sister of Skippyjon and later on became one of the Chimichangos in Skippyjon’s imagination. At first, I was surprised to see a male playing one of the little sisters, but during the show, my questions had been answered. He had an amazing voice and played the character quite well. In addition, I would also like to note the performance of Sergio King, who did a wonderful job as the protagonist, Skippyjon Jones.

King had the energy and character of being a little kid, which is hard to come by for most adults. I loved his costume as well, being a Siamese cat and a Chihuahua, it fit both perfectly. With the fine work of Paloma, Aguilar and King, I was also impressed with the technical aspects of the show. The sets astounded me when the outside of the house was flipped around to the inside, which then flipped again and became a snowy forest with movable tree branches.

I also loved the prop of the magic mirror which the wicked Bruja, played by Jay Philip Marlow, holds up to the set, and from behind Aguilar pokes through to talk as the mirror.

I enjoyed this production and I hope you were able to make it to ‘Skippyjon Jones: Snow What’ at Luhrs.

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