“Flora and Ulysses” Runs Wild This Weekend

This weekend, PYT’s Stories on Stage (SOS) will be presenting for the first time, Flora and Ulysses, a play based on the 2014 Newberry Medal winning novel about Flora Belle Buckman, a 10 year old self-proclaimed cynic who loves comic books and what happens when her neighbor accidentally sucks up a squirrel with a vacuum cleaner.

SOS Performances are Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

Flora and Ulysses, written by Kate DiCamillo asks the question, “can a little squirrel change the human heart?” The squirrel has had a devastating accident but is rescued by Flora.  She names him “Ulysses” as she has discovered he has been reborn a superhero! And who knows what things this once average squirrel can do! Maybe he can fly, maybe he can even write poetry. One thing for sure is this hairless turned super-hero squirrel now understands humans and especially, Flora. This is when the story takes off and runs wild with adventures in donut shops, doctor offices and more; introducing us to quirky characters and experiences along the way.

Director Meg Fischer Venuti, has taken the script by John Glore and has interpreted it with a cast of 9. When asked about what challenges she faced and what she loved about directing this cast and working on this production, Meg said, “it’s been a really fun challenge to figure out how we’ll integrate the puppets and the actors portraying those characters! It took several tries as different concepts, but I really like where we’ve landed.” Also, “I love being able to work with the actors more closely and SOS allows me to do that. With a small cast, it’s much easier to give every actor feedback and really work on characterization and physicality.”

The cast of this heartfelt story includes young performers 12 – 17 years of age and for some actors, this is their first Stories on Stage show which is quite different from performing in large musicals. We asked one of our actors, Ben, who plays “William Spiver”, why he auditioned for SOS, what he likes about it and some of his favorite musicals. Ben said he wanted to try out for SOS because “I wanted to get the experience of doing a straight play, work with a small cast and in a smaller space.” Ben also said, “I like so many things about SOS! I’ve made new friends and with a small cast, I get to know everyone and I am able to work more on my character with my fellow cast mates”. One of Ben’s favorite musicals is Once on this Island and a dream role for him, he said, would be “a role that was written for me”. Flora and Ulysses is Ben’s second Stories on Stage show. His first was “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.

So, come out and see this wonderful play with Ben (William Spiver) and the rest of the cast which includes: Anna (Dr. Meesham), Beatrice (Flora Buckman), Josh (Ernie/Donald Tickham), Olivia (Tooti Tickham), Rachel (Rita/Mr. Klaus), Roni, (Phyllis Buckman), Spencer (George Buckman/Alfred T. Slipper) and Theo (Squirrel/Ulysses). The show is Stage Managed by Olivier Plamondon with Lighting Design by Naomi Shanson. Michael Tucker is the Light Board Operator.

Performances for Flora and Ulysses are: Friday, November 1 at 9:30 am and 11:00 am and Saturday, November 2 at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. The show is on SecondStage at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts (MVCPA) 500 Castro Street, downtown Mountain View. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

By Barbie Koch