Written by orange• December 13, 2023• 2:46 am• Review, Santa Ana, The Wayward Artist, Theater, Uncategorized

Pirates vs Leprechauns @ Wayward Artist – Review

PC: Francis Gacad

Written by Patrick Chavis

Pirates vs leprechauns: what a bizarre combination at first glance. Pirates, while their exploits are exaggerated, have in fact sailed the seven seas. Meanwhile, leprechauns are small, magical, humanoid people from Irish folklore. What do these very different types of people have in common? The answer is gold! Both of them love treasure. Pirates may call it doubloons, and leprechauns like their gold in pots. However, either way, they like gold. After watching Pirates vs Leprechauns at the Wayward Artist, I learned they have more in common than I realized.

Story:

Pirates vs Leprechauns is a children’s musical about the conflict between two groups of people, the swashbuckling pirates led by Pocket Pirate (Spike Pulice) and the whimsical leprechauns led by Lucky Leprechaun (Genevive Kauper). Both want the treasure, but no one can agree on whose treasure it is or how they will get it. Who will win the booty?

This was a joke-filled, jolly, cartoon-esque show for kids with some adult references, ala Shrek. The story felt like a Saturday morning cartoon from the early 2000s. The show has a good message about friendship, differences, and getting along. It is a cute riff on that cartoon style, but some of the jokes and adult references go over kids’ heads, and the adult humor isn’t that great, not Shrek-worthy, at least.

Still, the overall setup is active and interactive in that the Pirates vs Leprechauns gets the audience involved. There is always something new going on to keep short attention spans interested. The songs aren’t that memorable, but they make sense. For this kid at heart, the back-and-forth between Lucky the Leprechaun and Pocket the Pirate worked well in this play.

I wish the show provided more opportunities for kids to interact within the show. The interactive aspect is one of the stronger aspects of the show, and I’m surprised there wasn’t more of it.

Set:

The set is this vibrantly colored jungle background concept from Scenic Designer Kristin Campbell. For the most part, the setting is essentially a backdrop for the performers, but there are some astonishing surprises in the second half. The production uses a little bit of light smoke to create ambiance.

Acting:

No one has to walk the plank in this cast. The actors in the production do a great job of making their characters just a little larger than life. With these kinds of shows, that’s pretty important.

As I mentioned before, Spike Pulice and Genevieve Kauper work off each other so well with each of their respective characters. It also doesn’t hurt that Pulice is taking some of that Captain Jack Sparrow rizz and incorporating it.

Elisabeth Hunter plays Finn, a leprechaun who loves to dance, and that’s precisely what she does. There may not be a place to dance in the Wayward Artist space that Finn hasn’t danced upon after this show.

The show provides early showtimes for families with young children. Pirates vs Leprechauns’s run ends December 17.