Berkshire on Stage

by Dan Mayer

After seeing The Squirrels at the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, a friend who had accompanied me asked, with visible confusion, what we had just watched. That is the sort of question invited by writer Robert Askins’ bizarre tragicomedy, and Harbinger Theatre‘s production embraces the absurdity to great effect.

The Squirrels is a tragic tale of prejudice and greed among tiny mammals, with a few echoes of real
human drama and our current political climate. It’s funny first and foremost, and the laughs are where
most of its strengths lie. The politics boil down to a simple conclusion: share the wealth, or prepare to lose your nuts.

Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm (The Scientist / Sciuridae) immediately sets the tone with an extremely campy
comedic performance, yet at times they become shockingly sinister as the scheming Sciuridae. By
contrast, Dennis Skiba (Sciurus) is more reigned-in and dignified as the aging gray squirrel patriarch with
the “sqworld” on his shoulders, but even he has moments of feral ferocity. The whole cast seem to have
channeled their inner animals for this show. It’s strange, a bit perverse, and a joy to watch.

The script is wildly entertaining, if somewhat challenging to engage with at times. The characters have
more dimensions than it would seem at first glance, but the drama is somewhat deflated by the linguistic
quirks of the characters. The squirrels employ squirrely replacements for several common words, and the word “muck” carries a variety of meanings that would put the Smurfs to shame. It’s also a bit difficult to keep character names straight when they’re drawn from scientific names for squirrels.

The set created by Barb Neu-Berti and Bud Whitney is thoroughly impressive. It’s obvious from the first
glance that a great deal of time and hard work went into creating the dozen papier-mache trees that stand on the stage. Each tree ends in a wheeled base, allowing the cast to quickly maneuver them around during scene transitions. Choreographer Aaliyah Al-Fuhaid treats us to a surreal ballet after each scene as trees dance across the stage and props find their places.

The brutal battle that ensues at the climax would not look out of place in a production of Evil Dead. The
violence and gore being depicted would be sickening if they weren’t so ridiculous, drawing plenty of
laughs from the crowd.

To borrow the squirrels’ parlance, this show is a mucking good time. If you’re in the mood for something
different, and you can handle the violence, promiscuity, and general absurdity, this production of The
Squirrels is worth seeing for yourself.

Harbinger Theatre presents The Squirrels by Robert Askins, directed by Patrick White, runs from June
21st to the 30th, at Sand Lake Center for the Arts, 2880 Rte 43 in Averill Park, NY. Cast: Haley Beauregard as Chordata, Lisa Bryk as Mammalia, Raphael Cohen as Carolinensis, Kerry Kazmierowicztrimm as Sciuridae/The Scientist, Victoria Nieves as Rodentia, and Dennis Skiba as Sciurus. Squirrel Ensemble: Amber Acosta as Nutina, Ben Amey as Stephen Squirrelberg, Tom Mooney as Patrick Squazy, Tiffany McWilliams as Carl, Mary Williams as Marcellus, and Hannah Blakeslee as Twiggy Smallz.
Stage Manager: Debby Bercier. Assistant Director: Jon Marks. Producer: Chris Foster. Choreographer:
Aaliyah Al-Fuhaid. Lighting Designer: Jared Ovitt. Sound Designer: Joshua Horowitz. Set Construction:
Bob Dawes & Barb Neu-Berti. Costume Designer: Kassidi Jarvis. House Manager: Marjorie Geiger.

Performance dates are Friday to Sunday, June 21-23 and 28-30 . Friday and Saturday curtains are at
7:30 pm, and Sundays are matinees only at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15. Runs approximately 2 hours without intermission. Tickets are available online. Visit https://www.actingclasswithpatrickwhite.net/ for more information.