'Jack' brings together Jacks from fairy tales

In the pantheon of fairy tales, the name "Jack" appears almost as often as strange plot twists.

With this in mind, John Trent gathered together all of the characters from fairy tales named "Jack" for a new play. The play, appropriately titled "Jack," is now running at the Magic Theater in Yuba City.

Among the characters named Jack who appear in the Magic Theater's production is Jack Horner, Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk" and Jack from the "Jack Be Nimble" rhyme.

"This play is based around all of the famous Jacks from nursery rhymes," said Trent, who, in addition to directing the play, is also the play's writer.

For "Jack," the central plot is the objects all of the characters are famous for getting stolen. The Jacks all band together to find them, which takes them on an adventure. For Jack of "Jack Be Nimble," his candlestick is stolen; for Jack Horner, it's his pie; for Jack of the "Jack and Jill" nursery rhyme, it's the pail; and for Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk," his beanstalk, obviously, needs to be recovered.

The idea for the play sprung from Trent's interest in doing a play called "Jack." "It was a weird thought I had a few years ago," he said of the play's idea. "'Jack' seemed like an interesting name for a play, and I wanted to do something fun and not too profound."

While the play may be more about having fun than communicating a deep idea, it does beg the question of why there are so many characters named "Jack" in nursery rhymes.

"I don't know," Trent said. "I guess it's a name that people just like."

The cast of "Jack" includes Brandon Graham as Jack Stalk, Joshua Victorino as Jack Nimble, Jeremy Trent as Jack Hill, Davey Eaves as Jack Horner, Dana Trent as Jack and Jeff Graham is the narrator.

"('Jack') doesn't have a message," Trent said. "It's just a stupid nonsense play I wrote. Some of the people in my cast say it's a bit like an episode of 'Seinfeld.'"

"Jack" runs Saturdays to March 1.

“Jack”

Times: 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays; runs to March 2

Where: The Magic Theater, 815 B St., Yuba City

Tickets: $5. Call 751-1100 or online at actingcompany.org