Miss Nelson (Emily Kester) stands amidst a storm of chaos provided by her students (L-R: Theodore Sapp, Justine “Icy” Moral, Tyler Dobies, and Graciela Rey). Photo by Margot Schulman.
School teachers can be wonderful guides to life for young people. The best ones teach lessons that last a lifetime. “Miss Nelson is Missing!,” now playing at Imagination Stage, shows audiences young and old why. The production, a musical adaptation of Harry Allard’s 1977 book, takes the audience into the classroom of Smedley Elementary School’s Room 207. The students, a rowdy bunch, overwhelm their teacher Ms. Nelson as they throw paper airplanes, kick, scream, and pay little attention to their instructions each day. Yet, when Ms. Nelson decides that there must be a change, the students learn to appreciate the joy and kindness she brought to the classroom.
…an all-around delight…great theater for both children and adults. It proves, yet again, why Imagination Stage is a local arts treasure for young and old.
This production, which had its world premiere at Imagination Stage in 2001 (and a return engagement in 2008), is an all-around delight. You realize it early on. Set Designer Milagros Ponce de Leon (who pulled at audiences’ hearts with her arching, dramatic depictions of Anatevka and Ellis Island in Olney Theater Center’s “Fiddler on the Roof”) has crafted a beautiful rotating set, which brings audiences between the classroom and the community.
Music, including “The Worst Kids of All,” is delightfully fun. The songs and lyrics by Joan Cushing are catchy (“It starts with a squiggle…and leads to an innocent giggle”). They are complemented with choreography from Tony Thomas that pulls you into the fun (and bedlam) of this school.
The students appreciation of fun is forever changed when they meet the evil substitute, Ms. Swamp played by Emily Kester. Thanks to costume designer Jeanette Christensen, she cuts an imposing figure on stage in an all black dress and striped socks. When that striking image is paired with the high notes she hits in the number “The Swamp Song,” along with the sharp snap of her ruler on the children’s desks and Max Doolittle’s eerie lighting design, Imagination Stage Founding Director Janet Stanford has set the tone for a delightfully frightening character.
While I did not experience the prior runs of this show, Stanford manages a complete production in 2024. Jimmy Mavrikes (as Principal Blandsworth, Detective McSmogg, and Pop Hanson) is an appropriately silly presence on stage. The quartet of students—Tyler Dobies, Theodore Sapp, Justine “Icy” Moral, and Graciela Rey—handle the music and Thomas’s choreography with aplomb.
If I was to offer one minor missed opportunity, it is that this production features minimal audience engagement. There are a couple of moments of ‘call and response’ (for example, where an actor will say ‘I can’t hear you!!!’), but perhaps not enough of actors directly engaging audience members or staging that brings them out into the audience (save for a brief moment, where Ms. Swamp is en route to her home). That, however, does not detract from the full picture of this production. “Ms. Nelson is Missing!” is great theater for both children and adults. It proves, yet again, why Imagination Stage is a local arts treasure for young and old.
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
Advisory: Best for ages 4+, as the Ms. Swamp character could be a little scary for smaller children.
“Miss Nelson is Missing!” runs through August 10, 2024 at Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 301-280-1600 or go online.
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