Students make a looney tune

There was not an empty seat in the house in the Little Theatre on April 10 for the all-student production of "Cartoon."

The theater had been transformed into an animated cartoon world, reigniting memories of everyone's favorite childhood cartoon.

Director Richard Lozoya wisely selected Steve Yockey's "Cartoon," and directed the farcical comedy with great stride.

"Cartoon" is a story about a land of cartoons run by a bratty girl named Esther, played by Summer Stratton, who rules by her large hammer. But, when her hammer is stolen by the artful Trouble, played by Chris Aranda, the cartoon world is turned upside down, erupting in a war between the characters that ends in blood shed.

The story is reminiscent of a communist-era political comedy, which was accurately portrayed by each character.

Some of the standouts included the Winston Puppet, played by Max Herzfeld, who made his Little Theatre non-musical debut, and best friends Akane and Yumi, played by Tayler Larson and Brittany Sanchez, respectively.

By the end of the play, the cartoon characters go mad with power and some are take up a new-found interest in murder, including Akane, who comically and tragically chokes her best friend to death.

Winston also breaks free of his restricting strings, only to find that being free isn't as great as he thought it would be. Herzfeld did an amazing job of staying in character, as he had the difficult task of being the only character that was on stage for the entire play.

Another standout was the Damsel, played by newcomer Desire Perez in her first performance in the Little Theatre.

Perez had every eye on her when she murdered her longtime love, the Suitor, played by Kevin Figueroa, and as she sobbed while dancing with his lifeless body. She was convincing and captivated the audience with her dramatic and sweet portrayal of her character.

The play was not only well acted, directed and produced, but it was also visually captivating. The theater was made into a cartoon world, complete with brightly painted props, a slide, and a crooked television that played cartoons for the audience before the show. The characters' costumes also made the illusion of being in a cartoon world even more real, from Esther's pigtails to the Winston Puppet's body movement and stage makeup.

"Cartoon" is now on a long list of phenomenal theater productions, and the entire cast and crew deserve much praise.