Fosgate, Ferret Loan Officer
Fosgate, Ferret Loan Officer
Written by Ned Wilkinson
Directed by Christopher Leavy
SGG Productions
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival – Brown Venue</strong>
Somewhere between 1984 and Merchant of Venice lies this fairly tale of anthropomorphized animals and shady lending practices. Slick Fosgate Ferret (Jason Wood) makes his living lending to these chimeras as humans can’t loan to animals because of a plot point law. That’s fair enough but what isn’t fair are the terms and conditions of Fosgate’s loans. Just like Visa and Master Card, the point of his business isn’t to get repaid but rather pile up fees at mobster grade interest rates, then drive the animals into bankruptcy. There’s even a pound of flesh clause, and when Fosgate tries to apply it to stuttering Henry Horse (Holland Hayes) Rufus Pig (Matt Horohoe) and Felicity the Barrister (Laura Hodos) to defend Horace in front of sousaphone playing Judge Badger (Ned Wilkinson). Fosgate backs down, and with this legal precedent meaningful animal lending reform is a possibilty.
There’s just one word to descibe this musical: Cute. Last season’s sweaty rabbit suit is replaced with minimalist Dollar Store ears and perky little tails. The songs are well integrated with the action as Mr. Wilkinson sits upstage with a keyboard and a racoon-ish Dan Middleditch backs him on guitar. Fosgate sings very well for a ferret, and Henry leads the ensemble in the wonderful English music hall style “Wheels of Progress.” Supporting the show is perky Sara Lee Dobbs as Violet the Sheep singing “Maybe I’m A Shill” and discovering her conscience while Joshua Ross fills the Border Collie role and passes Felicity’s dog test in “Choose with Care.” All of this is a light hearted morality play, accessible to anyone who has ever had to repay a loan or likes old fashioned music.
This commentary was prepared from a preopening rehearsal.
This show is part of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. Tickets and other information may be found at http:\www.OrlandoFringe.org
