Rival rodents mirror sinister humans in excellent Westcliffe production of Robert Askins’ comedy

There’s plenty of real conflict going on around the world, but you should see what the squirrels in Custer County are up to! Prepare for a nutty adventure at the historic Jones Theater in downtown Westcliffe for its final weekend of “The Squirrels.”

The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts (WCPA) features a small cast on a simplistic stage. Collectively, they bring to life power, dominance, greed and prejudice as two rival squirrel colonies prepare for winter. Tribalism evolves between the haves (the rich gray squirrels) and the have-nots (the outcast and starving red squirrels) — all of whom are hiding more than just their nuts.

The Jones Theater troupe excels, as each embodies its animal persona with high credibility. After a clunky start, the audience soon forgets the absurd folly of humans with movable tails making chirping noises between lines.

And did I mention the mucking? Yes, playwright Robert Adkins doesn’t sidestep the hushed reality around the notoriously randy little rodents and does so with such clever humor!

WCPA veteran Elliot Jackson plays Sciurus, the proud patriarch of the grays and an epic collector of nuts having horded enough for 10 seasons. But the old stud’s prowess is tested when his daughter falls for the leader of a rival outlaw red squirrel colony. Mirroring the Montagues and Capulets, the warring clans are plagued by prejudice and greed as they trek a shared path of decimation.

Clan warfare

The story opens with the only human role in the play. As the “scientist” Scott Mischnick shares facts around squirrel behavior and biology with the audience. Clad in his white lab coat with Einstein-like hair, Mischnick easily delivers the mad in his cartoonish interpretation. Later, as the only actor to portray two roles, he is Sciuridae, a creepy and racist old gray squirrel who likes to stir up trouble.

Lisa Walling is a standout as the demure and vulnerable Chordata, Sciurus’ daughter and the moral compass in the narrative. She loves Carolinensis (Ryan McDonald) leader of the reds who is determined to end nut inequality. Their forbidden pairing causes a stir. Director Huffman cleverly manages the fervent mucking with two stagehands parading out a large “censored” banner during each interlude. Don’t be fooled: This is not a charming animal tale for children.

Ann Stewart and Elliot Jackson in ‘The Squirrels’ | Photo: Ellen Glover

The seductress

Now what good story is complete without a seductress, and Shana Abe gets the golden nut for her performance. Manipulative and cunning, Abe plays Rodentia, Chordata’s sexy sister, set on turning tails. Ann Stewart plays the domineering mother figure Mammalia, long-suffering partner to Sciurus. She nearly steals ever scene with her larger-than-life bossy flamboyance. Rounding out the cast are the menacing ensemble squirrels, Noelle Raelson and Luke Hooks, scurrying their way around the set.

Tails up to the play’s creative team for the set and lighting design. A foldable backdrop effortlessly flips the scene from the inside to the outside of the tree’s hole and then switches its hue to reflect the changing of the seasons as winter bears down. Lighting rises and falls, stage left to right to show the passage of day into night. Flickering lights illuminate the theatre to suggest the arrival of snow. Huge makeshift nuts are squirreled away as treasured finds.

Among the fantastical features of this play are the squirrel tails themselves. A source of intrigue as we watch them in the wild, they are no less curious in this production. From agitation to arousal, their tails are part of the action. As for costumes, no fancy attire here. Instead, it is as if each actor is empowered to create their own in hues of nature with a single human garment to signal their status.

Squirrels are all around us — just like people. They are individuals too, but with tails: cutting us off, behaving erratically, chirping away with their opposing views. This play may have you thinking differently as our less-than-admirable human traits are illustrated in animal stories. Sinister, bloody and dark but there will also be a whole lot of mucking going on! Well done, WCPA thespians!