'Porcupine' triumphs in Magic Theatre play

A classic tale of a quest to vanquish a foul monster to win the hand of a fair princess will be staged by the Magic Theatre beginning Saturday in Yuba City. Performances of "The Princess and the Porcupine," co-directed by Dianna DeLashmutt and Jeff Graham, are at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays through June 30.

Princess Perfect (Hope Heaven Lee) — the most beautiful princess in world — must be married, as her subjects are fed up with her expensive taste. To win her hand, a courageous soul must defeat the dreaded Two-Headed Monster of Bad Stuff (Jocelynn Machuca and Emily Trnka). One of the valiant souls who puts his life on the line is Bob the Porcupine (Alexandra Oliva).

"It's a very cute show. It is the classic fairy tale of the brave knights going off and battling the evil monster to win the hand of a princess," Graham said. "But this particular story has been turned on its head.

"The princess is getting married off because she's spoiled and is costing the village too much money, and the knights are not very brave, not very smart. Then a porcupine decides he wants to join the competition," Graham said.

"So they go off to battle the evil Two-Headed Monster of Bad Stuff, which is hilarious. Our evil monster is two little girls in one dress, so there's two heads. It's really funny," he said.

"It's a story of not judging people, of treating everybody the same, because at first, of course, nobody wants to take the porcupine seriously. And, of course, the porcupine ends up winning the girl at the end," Graham said.

The cast includes Audrey Benton Wolfgram, Luke Benton Wolfgram, Alejandra Cervantes, Madison Cofer, Michelle Dewey, Molly Enderton, Noah Enderton, Janet Frye, Bethany Harris, Rian Juarez, Joshua Keiser, Sarah Odegard, Michelle Rewerts, Allison Tinajero and Emma Wolfgram.

"You will enjoy it. It's a great show for all ages. Where else can you see a cabbage dance other than here?" Graham smiled. "It's a really hilarious show watching a porcupine battle a two-headed monster, especially considering the two-headed monster is probably about half as tall as the porcupine.

"We try to keep it fun because we are having to compete with the beginning of summer vacation and pool parties and graduation parties and that kind of stuff. And it is such a goofy script with such fun, silly stuff in it," he said.

"Two of the kids have to speak with horrible German accents. I told them to watch 'A Bug's Life' and try to sound like the caterpillar. So I think they are having a good time," Graham said.

"Magic Theatre is getting some momentum — we are starting to have nearly sold-out houses; we are starting to get a following. They are really cute shows. They usually have some type of message, or if there is not an overt moral, at least there is not a bad message!" he added.

"The two-headed monster cracks me up. It's two little girls in a dress they made for me to do a Shakespeare show when I was playing Juliet. Yeah — quite funny," Graham said.

CONTACT Susan Benitez at sbenitez@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4773. Find her on Facebook at /ADFeatures or on Twitter at @adfeatures.