Reggie DeLeon, Emily Eiden and Max Lawrence in LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE

How does one play a mouse?  Or an elephant?  Or a toad, a dog or a rabbit?  Thankfully, the good people at MainStreet Theatre Company have given me the opportunity to explore all of those questions and discover the answers!

I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the best in children’s entertainment, like Disney, Nickelodeon, and the educational touring shows for East West Players and the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts. I count the MainStreet Theatre Company in Rancho Cucamonga among my favorites.

We’re in rehearsal for Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (opening Oct. 2 and running through Oct. 17 at the Lewis Family Playhouse) and I get to play with a marvelous cast of mice. We’re having a ball scurrying around ferreting out other rodent-like qualities. The show is a terrific adaptation of three popular children’s books (Kevin Henkes’ Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Chester’s Way and Julius, Baby of the World). Director Abigail Deser and her wonderful team (Set Designer Dwight Richard Odle, Costume Designer Tina Haatainen Jones, Lighting Designer Tom Ontiveros and Sound Designer Michael Hooker) have incorporated several fun theatrical elements to make Lilly’s colorful world come to life.

Lilly (Emily Eiden) comes flying in on a zip line, Wilson and Chester (Max Lawrence and I) bike ride through the house to a jaunty original soundtrack, and a seven-foot Uncooperative Chair takes center stage, just to name a few. As it is with every show, they’re pulling out all the stops. It is this commitment to making their productions not just the best in children’s theatre but the best in Theatre that makes it such an honor and pleasure to work at MainStreet.

I can’t believe how lucky I am… this is my sixth show with MainStreet. Each show has been a uniquely joyous experience and I am filled with amazing memories of working with some of the finest directors, actors and designers Southern California has to offer. So why do they travel all the way out to Rancho Cucamonga to do children’s theatre? I think it’s because there’s something really special about being part of a child’s first experience at the theatre. We’re helping to foster the theatre makers and audiences of the future. The great responsibility MainStreet takes in doing that is what draws such a fantastic, collaborative and creative group of artists. Producer Murry Hepner’s uncanny ability to consistently bring together the right mix of people to create the best show is a marvel in and of itself! And while growing up in Southern California I thought Rancho Cucamonga was a fictional far off place, it’s very real and only about 40 minutes away from LA. And the Victoria Gardens mall (where the Lewis Family Playhouse is located) is pretty cool too.

Ann Marie Lee and Reggie DeLeon in CINDERELLA

So in answer to the questions I posited in the beginning, playing a woodland creature isn’t so different from playing a human. It’s great fun emulating some of the animal’s behavioral patterns but in the end, the audience connects with the animal’s heart most of all. One of the biggest compliments I’ve ever gotten was from a little girl and her mother who recognized me several months after MainStreet’s Cinderella closed. I was hosting the Surf’s Up Breakfast with Mickey & Friends at the Disneyland Resort and when the little girl saw me, she ran right up to me, gave me a big hug and her Mom said, “She’s more excited about meeting the White Rabbit from Cinderella than Mickey Mouse! That show had so much heart.”

I hope you’ll join us at MainStreet and let us share our hearts with you!

Production photos by Ed Krieger.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, produced by Mireya Hepner for MainStreet Theatre Company, opens Oct. 2; public performances Sat., 1 & 4 pm; Sun., 1 pm; through Oct. 17. Tickets: $14-$17. Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Dr., Rancho Cucamonga; 909.477.2752 or 877.858.8422. lewisfamilyplayhouse.com.