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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; The kids said a treasure washed up on shore and &#8212; swish! &#8212; with one smooth glide, a sturdy trunk zoomed to the middle of the stage.</p><p>Would there be gold inside? Diamonds?</p><p>Actually, in this pivotal scene in &#8220;Playdoh, Playdoh, A Little Musical South Sea Island Exotic Extravaganza,&#8221; the young thespians opened the chest to reveal a little girl named Treasure, a child destined to help their characters outwit a villain.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a tiny bit scary,&#8221; 8-year-old Kayla Mead of Scranton said later, describing her brief ride inside the trunk. &#8220;But it&#8217;s more fun than scary.&#8221;</p><p>Many of her castmates in the show, to be presented by REV Theatre Co. of Philadelphia at 6 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Oppenheim Center for the Arts on Jackson Street, echo that sentiment, whether it&#8217;s a singer feeling nervous about a solo or a young actor facing a different sort of challenge.</p><p>&#8220;I have to hold Mr. Rudy up when he falls,&#8221; 10-year-old Victoria Szanyi of Moosic said, explaining she was a little worried about that because &#8220;Mr. Rudy&#8221; will be so very big &#8212; sufficiently padded to portray La Teensy Weensy, a 300-pound opera singer-turned pirate who has a blue face, kidnaps orphans, peppers her speech with French words and has one other magnificent obsession.</p><p>&#8220;Bonjour,&#8221; La Teensy Weensy says at one point. &#8220;Bonsoir. Bon-Bon.&#8221;</p><p>Acting as translator, 11-year-old Isabella DeFlice will tell the audience La Teensy Weensy said, &#8220;Hello, good evening, and candy.&#8221;</p><p>Yes, candy is La Teensy&#8217;s obsession, and she has perhaps consumed too much.</p><p>&#8220;I come in in a wheelbarrow,&#8221; said Rudy Caporaso, who portrays the one-time diva. &#8220;I&#8217;m too huge to walk.&#8221;</p><p>So, just how villainous is La Teensy Weensy? Could she cause as much trouble as the evil witch in last year&#8217;s REV Theater production?</p><p>&#8220;If you thought Auntie Histamine was bad,&#8221; Caporaso said with a laugh, hinting this year&#8217;s bad guy is much worse, in a zany rather than scary way. &#8220;She&#8217;s loud and rude and demanding. She&#8217;s egotistical and selfish.&#8221;</p><p>She also threatens to boil people in oil.</p><p>But, remember, Treasure will have a plan to help Typhoon, Algae, Sharky, Guppy and the rest of the kids save the day.</p><p>Caporaso and Rosemary Hay, co-directors of REV Theatre, wrote this year&#8217;s show and said staging it with two dozen area children is part of their mission to bring theater to neighborhoods that might not otherwise experience it.</p><p>Sometimes, it&#8217;s easy to notice how young the cast is, as when some of them try to speak over each other during a rehearsal break.</p><p>&#8220;I hear six voices at once,&#8221; Caporaso told them pointedly. &#8220;Like Joan of Arc.&#8221;</p><p>Still, Hay said, everyone is doing a great job. &#8220;We&#8217;re working them like professionals.&#8221;</p><p>As the rehearsal continued, Szanyi and another girl had no trouble &#8220;holding up&#8221; the swooning La Teensy Weensy.</p><p>And later, DeFlice said she&#8217;s enjoying her role as translator for the handful of French words and phrases in the script.</p><p>&#8220;I want to study French in high school and college,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I want to become a civil rights activist, and you might have to travel the world.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Connor Griggs, 9, left, helps Kayla Mead, 8, from out of a trunk as Rudy Caporaso looks on during a recent play rehearsal of &#8220;Playdoh, Playdoh&#8221; at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_playdoh01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Connor Griggs, 9, left, helps Kayla Mead, 8, from out of a trunk as Rudy Caporaso looks on during a recent play rehearsal of &#8220;Playdoh, Playdoh&#8221; at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_playdoh02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gavin Whitaker, 5, and Isabella DeFlice, 11, salute during a recent play rehearsal of &#8220;Playdoh, Playdoh&#8221; at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_playdoh02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gavin Whitaker, 5, and Isabella DeFlice, 11, salute during a recent play rehearsal of &#8220;Playdoh, Playdoh&#8221; at the Oppenheim Center for the Arts in Scranton. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_playdoh03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Youngsters rehearse a dance scene in the REV Theatre Co. production of &#8216;Playdoh, Playdoh.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_playdoh03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Youngsters rehearse a dance scene in the REV Theatre Co. production of &#8216;Playdoh, Playdoh.&#8217; </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> &#8216;Playdoh, Playdoh, A Little Musical South Sea Island Exotic Extravaganza&#8217;</p><p><strong>Who:</strong> Presented by REV Theatre Co. with a cast of local children</p><p><strong>When:</strong> 6 p.m. Aug. 22</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Oppenheim Center for the Arts, 1004 Jackson St., Scranton</p><p><strong>Admission:</strong> Free</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

A pirate comes to Scranton