Has your country gone broke? Are you about to have to go back to the ‘dark times’ where only one pomegranate per household per year? Are you on the verge of total extinction in your five-mile by three-mile country that NATO likely doesn’t recognize? Then have we got a solution for you! Why, declare war, of course! On the United States! Because there’s no conceivable universe— past, present, future, or otherwise— where you could win that war, and good ol’ ‘Murica takes care of the nations its decimates in war! Tis a foolproof plan, indubitably. Until you meet the tumbling, rumbling, bumbling fools of Greater Fenwick! Then all bets are off! This farce (sans doors) is of mythic proportions, just like the little roaring mouse native to the National Forest of Greater Fenwick! And you can find it on stage at Salem Players in Catonsville bot this weekend and next! What is it, you ask? A tomfoolery adventure in shenanigans and nonsense, that’s what. Oh, the title? Right. The Mouse That Roared. Adapted by Christopher Segel based on the book by Leonard Wibberley and currently be directed by Erin Klarner, this quirky little comedy is quaintly charming, has some real madcap moments, and will give you some giggles that will help you forget about all your outside world troubles.
With a simple setting (designed by Paul Timmel, who doubles up as the show’s lighting designer) the play traverses various locations like the National Forest of Grand Fenwick, a laboratory in New York City at Columbia University, the throne room of the Duchy, an office in the White House in Washington DC, and more. It’s the painted periaktoi that help delineate where you are— with a lovely scene of the Washington Monument in full cherry tree blossom painted on the turning scenic fixture in the adornment platform, downstage right. The set décor (Sara Toscano, Emme Atknson, Evelyn Kay, Coraline Weaver, Ellie Bower,) is kept equally simple so that the actors can keep up the pacing.
Truthfully, on the evening of final dress, the pacing (more so in the scenic transitions) was a bit sluggish, though it was parlayed that the production was without its run crew…perhaps they too had been kidnapped and taken to the deep dungeon. This made for some questionable imbalance in Sterling Grey and director Erin Klarner’s sound design— primarily that several scene changes, particularly early on, were in desperate need of some sonic coverage but had none. When the sound effects were in play, they were quite grand, most befitting of a royally befuddled ragtag band of ragamuffins from a country so small you’d blink if you miss it.
The play itself lands in 1972 and the costumes (Lindsay Fitch) outfits things accordingly, for the most part. While our female officers of the army bore uniforms that looked a little bit more World War II and some of the student and tourist gear was more of a 70’s vibe with modern clothes, the ideas were there and actually sort of assisted the nonsensical vibe of the performance. The ‘country’ of Grand Fenwick is trapped in the 13th Century and you’ve got Robin Hood & Maiden Marian (sans veil) vibes going on there, particularly once they suit up into the armor to ‘storm the US for their declaration of war.’ And the ‘grape feet’ on Mrs. Bascom were a hilarious and noteworthy favorite.
Pacing issues aside, the show could used with a hint more of a push in the campy/comedic over-the-top department. It’s funny but if it were being played across the board with a heightened level of kitsch and slapstick-style comedy, it would have been uproarious. That said, it functions well enough as is and does give you quite a few good moments of things to laugh at as the plot of the play becomes a ridiculous entanglement of failing upwards, fluke style.
With 20 actors in the play, Erin Klarner does a smart job of splitting of roles and of making sure we never have an overcrowding issue on the stage. Several of the performers double or triple up. You’ve got the initial tourists (Julie Kempton, Nathan Rosen, Sal Robertson, Melissa Scott) who get a hilarious recall scene in the second act where everything that annoyed them from their first encounter with Tully Bascom in the National Forest of Grand Fenwick gets spun around to make it sound like they were propagandizing the place as a part of their intended visit. Then there’s the soldier (Matt Klarner, Sean Eustis, Gareth Kelly, Nick Mason, Nathan Rosen, Stan Steele) where quite a few of the marching madcaps double and triple up else place to cause plot-related chaos— like Gareth Kelly who can be seen alongside Linda Fleischer as ‘sightseers’ in New York City or Nick Mason, who is the only named soldier among the bunch; he’s called Will and gets some humorous interactions with Tully on and off throughout the whole affair. And let’s not forget the students (Sarah Cowie-Miller, Lenny Dinerman, and Nathan Rosen) which is a hilarious statement as they take some of the most senior-appearing actors to make them the young protesting students on the streets of Manhattan.
Dinerman doubles up as the Radio Announcer, showcasing two or three different accents and when he reads through the various broadcast transcripts you’ll get a chuckle. Particularly if you happen to enjoy ovine humor— it’s ba-aah-aah-d. Oh! And Cowie-Miller? She doubles up as the bubbly and giddy Mrs. Ann Bascom, mother to Tully, who gets to hold her own in a silly little scene later in the second act, regarding certain…proposals.
Chock-a-block with comedic stereotypes, the script has characters like General Snippet (Tim Toscano) who is barky though just as bumbling as a certain National Park Ranger from Grand Fenwick. Flanked at all times by his two aid-de-camps…aka his daughters… Jill (Elinor Bower) and Debbie (Carolyn Lawrence)… the trio of the American Army adds for some truly humorous moments all throughout the performance from the time they’re introduced through to the scene where Bower and Lawrence are shrieking barefoot about mice. There’s also The Professor— Kokintz (Nik Henle) to be specific. He’s obsessed with his creation…The Q Bomb… and by gosh when that thing is unveiled it looks like a game of Mouse Trap setup and had offspring with a carnival diorama, which fits the bill for the productions’ farce components on the whole. The spastic intensity with which Henle focuses on that prop is delightful and keeps you chuckling every time you encounter him.
You’ve got the castle’s high-guard…high council? High dum-dums who add to the humors of the show. Picture political corruption but on a ‘means-well; does-foolish’ scale and that is the epitome of Benter (Sean Eustis) and Mountjoy (Damien Gibbons.) Gibbons, who affects a slightly more nefarious vocal affectation is serving up some Shakespearean villain vibes if they were done up by Disney and then gently dipped in pomegranate sugar. There’s an epic scene where Gibbons, Eustis, and Duchess Gloriana (Lexi Kay) are all attempting to use a shortwave radio to hear broadcast-news of their success…and the physical comedy involved in that moment his hysterical. You’ve got Kay and Gibbons grasping onto Eustis as if he were an errant kite gone off in the wind and the way they work their bodies in that scene, however brief, is really just comedic genius.
Kay, as the presiding ruler of Grand Fenwick, is a delightful ingenue stock-type with a hint of self-importance, delicately balanced inside her kingdom of chaotic nonsense. With Eustis and Gibbons at her command, a delightful Page Boy (Matt Klarner) flitting around the castle at will— and I must say, when Klarner reads out the official scroll for the declaration of war, it’s actually this really enlightening and endearing moment, very, very reminiscent of Linus giving us the true meaning of Christmas from that iconic holiday Charlie Brown TV special— and her heart, mind, and eyes set on doing the best for her Queendom— Duchessdom? Her subjects, let’s call them, it’s really quite lovely to see the pips of energy that Kay puts into the role. She’s channeling all the silly whims of a 22-year-old young girl and it adds to the silliness of the show.
Pair her up against Tully Bascom (Cory Bauer) and you’re in for one of those stupid-cupid meet-cute shenanigans that all good farces have tucked away in their pages. From the moment you’re introduced to Bauer’s character you’re in for a laugh. Think Dudley-Do-Right meets Gilligan meets one of the castle guards from Spamalot (during the ‘guard Prince Herbert’ scene) and you’ve got an exacting comedic idea of the foolishness that comprises Tully Bascom. And Bauer plays it straighter than an arrow, which makes it that much more humorous! Taking his job more seriously than Dogberry could ever take his charge of The Watch in Messina, Bauer’s Tully Bascom is the real comic catalyst in this plot. And his interactions, from the very first re-introduction with Gloriana, are just too cute for words!
Two seasoned ladies of the stage grab wigs, suits, and don the ‘breeches roles’ of Secretary of State and President of the US and become the funniest damn component in the show. You won’t be able to take your eyes off of Sam David (playing Beston, Secretary of State) or Terri Laurino (The President.) The pair are pure comedic geniuses, cracking you up from the moment they’re introduced through to the final scene. David brings nervous fiddly energy to her character, constantly reaching for ‘panic pills’ and fiddling around in the background in a way that is both engaging and humorous without being distracting. And Laurino is the exact opposite, bombastically exploding with temper every chance she gets; the pair play off one another divinely and their comedic timing and understanding, particularly in scenes with one another is simply to die for. When they’re in the second scene in the office in Washington with “Plans A, B, C,” about how to resolve the crisis, David makes shenanigans happen with the army men while Laurino is pacing about and adding physical chaos to the scene. When they engage with other characters— like David in her “If/If/If/If” moment or that exacting “Yes, but what does it DO” line— you get ripe, laugh-landers that perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the show as a whole. And that scene that closes out the first act between Laurino and David? Comic gold. The way David commits to the bit, shoveling paper after paper at Laurino is a pure laugh-out-loud riot.
Be the mouse…or the Pinot Grand Fenwick? Or— the invading soldiers with their longbows? Whichever one of those incarnations is the one that encourages you to buy the tickets to see The Mouse That Roared this weekend and next at The Salem Players in Catonsville.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours with one intermission
The Mouse That Roared plays through May 17th 2026 with The Salem Players— Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church at 905 Frederick Road in Catonsville, MD. For tickets call (410) 747-0720 or purchase them online.
