Jackson Community Theater’s ‘Velveteen’ Reimagines Children’s Classic Tale With Local Flair

JACKSON — When Jesse Morgan approached Andrew Munz last fall with a script, some drawings, and a collection of music he'd composed, it was the kind of brave gesture those involved in local theater want to see more often.

"He said, ‘Well, I wrote this show for another theater company that my mom was involved with,'” Munz recalled. "And he sent me an initial script and a bunch of music that he composed.

“And that was a first for me to have like a score that somebody had actually recorded and written out, and then these drawings, these incredible drawings of costume ideas and these rabbits that were holding spears.”

Those spear-wielding rabbits would become the heart of "Velveteen," an ambitious adaptation of Margery Williams' beloved children's story "The Velveteen Rabbit." 

On Thursday, the production opened at the Pink Garter Theater in downtown Jackson with a striking ticket-taker dressed in a red dress and inline skates welcoming the first-night crowd to the second story theater. 

This marked the debut of something refreshing — a work created by and for the locals. 

Opening Night

The house lights dimmed in the Pink Garter Theater as Munz, founding artistic director of Tumbleweed Creative Arts, stepped onto the stage to welcome the opening night crowd.

He outlined a year of germination, of building something from scratch. 

"When we finally pulled together a cast, when we finally started really leaning into building costumes and Jesse was composing more music, we were starting to build masks and really kind of developing this out of just a spark of an idea into something that's full fledged and will be performed for you tonight for the very first time," Munz said.

For Munz, who grew up in Jackson and has been doing theater since he was 10 on this same stage, the production represents what he described as the core mission of Tumbleweed Creative Arts.

"Our organization is all about promoting local artists," Munz said before the show. “Jackson, of course, has a cultural history of visitors and importing not only guests, but also arts and acts and entertainment and things that have been a part of our culture for the longest time."

But Tumbleweed, said Munz, was created as a response to something missing. 

"When it came to supporting local art or really kind of highlighting creative work that was being developed here in Jackson, not just showcased here in Jackson. That was a big part of my impulse to do what we're doing now," Munz explained, recalling how the show grew organically during casting. 

"There were a few people that filled the roles that we had planned for, and then we were looking at these other performers that just didn't necessarily fit into the grooves of the characters that we created," he said. "But there was a part of us when we were sitting there going through our casting decisions that we didn't want to let them go.”

So they wrote them into the script. 

In his opening night remarks to the audience, Munz emphasized what makes community theater matter. 

"This is after-school theater. This is after-work theater. And that's important to hold on to and to support," he said. "There’s something so beautiful in what happens when a community comes together in pursuit of the creation of something that really represents love and ensemble."

From Page To Stage

When the curtains opened, the audience was transported into a reimagined version of the classic tale. 

The father character, played by Morgan, tells young Maisie (the childhood name of Margery Williams, author of “The Velveteen Rabbit”), played by Lena Estay: "There is a forest, a mystical forest where there were these rabbits."

As the story unfolds on stage, the father explains about a mischievous rabbit.

"They didn't provide for the other rabbits,” he said. “They were quite the troublemakers.”

But this is an enchanted forest, and when rabbits misbehave, consequences follow. 

20 Hours Later

On the afternoon after opening night, Morgan sat alone in the Pink Garter Theater. 

He'd spent the previous evening watching carefully, listening to the audience, reading their body language and energy. And he'd made a decision: write more music.

"Last night was a real first blow through with just catching little things that are missed," Morgan said. "It's the luxury of knowing and also the terror of not knowing precisely how it's going to work.”

The problem, Morgan realized, was about maintaining energy and helping the audience stay engaged. 

"The audience really helps to figure out where the cues need to be, where the energy starts slowing down," he said. "You can see when other people are pretending to not be tired or bored or getting distracted. 

“So, body language, head droops, people start leaning one way or the other and you're like, OK, right here."

He'd identified a specific moment that needed attention. 

"Last night, we have the scene where the White Rabbit is punished,” said Morgan. “But it just doesn't have quite the same kick as when the music comes in with some falsettos and phonics. 

"So we're adding two tonight to see what the reaction is, because we know that the energy is going to be important there."

Family Legacy

For Morgan, who wrote the original script for a children's production at the Youngstown Playhouse that his mother directed, coming back to community theater in Jackson holds deep personal meaning.

"I grew up here in the valley," Morgan said, who followed his mother and grandmother into the local arts scene. 

"My grandmother was heavily involved. She helped sponsor things like the Grand Teton Music Festival when it first came out,” he said. 

But beyond the family legacy, Morgan sees community theater as filling a vital role in Jackson's cultural ecosystem. 

Like Munz, he observed how the town has professional productions and touring acts, but there would be something missing for local aspiring performers if not for groups like Tumbleweed Creative Arts. 

"There's not really the gateway drug, if all you ever see is you go and watch Shakespeare on the green," Morgan said. “That's all professional.”

With “Velveteen,” "It's the chance to create,” he said. “It’s the chance to come out and play, to see these kids get a chance at something that they wouldn't get a chance at is what makes it worth it for me.”

As he worked on the new music for the second night’s performance, Madison Earl walked into the theater, the first cast member to arrive. 

Morgan looked up from his work and began explaining the new themes he'd created, identifying music for Earl's character and the two others she appears with throughout the show.

Earl is a 17-year-old senior at Jackson Hole High School, and "Velveteen" marks her continued involvement in community theater that began four years ago.

In that first production — “Wild Country” — Earl played an elk named Thicket. 

"I was madly in love with another elk," she recalled with a laugh.

Her path to "Velveteen" came through a chance encounter when she ran into Munz and he encouraged her to carry on, leading to her casting as a character named Babd, who is part of the Morrigan troupe of three dancers in “Velveteen.”

"The Morrigan is a goddess I believe in Celtic mythology," Earl explained. "So it was so cool to think about the fact that I get to play a piece of folklore."

The three characters function as a kind of sisterhood, keeping order in the forest. 

“I guess it kind of felt like they also had a sort of sense of justice about them,” said Earl. "It's like guidance to keep balance in the forest.”

Getting Real

When asked what she gets out of being part of community theater, Earl's answer reveals the essence of what makes these productions special.

"There's so many cool people in this show, and I've seen so many people from Pink Garter outside of the theater,” she said. “It's cool to know that the people you're with are your neighbors, and you're going to see them again. If not today, maybe tomorrow.” 

And when that happens, the mutual smiles confirm the shared mission. 

As Munz told his opening night audience: "Everything is handmade." 

And in a world that often feels "nuts," where "Netflix is awful" and everything starts to "feel very thin," there's something powerful about people from the same small town getting together to make something real.

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.