'Junie B. Jones in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells' arrives at CCA

The captain of over 15 children’s theater productions throughout her career, including “Charlotte’s Web” for the second time last summer, Harty is also a music instructor, teaching in both a school setting and her private piano studio.

During her search for a holiday play, Harty sifted through several scripts, finding most incomplete, narrowly appealing or tonally ill-suited. “The moment I opened the Junie B. script, I found myself laughing and reminiscing about the countless hours I spent reading with my daughter when she was in elementary school,” Harty said in her director’s notes. “I knew right away that this story captured the way children see the world.”

Although it requires extra patience, directing children’s theater is all the more rewarding, according to Harty. “I love watching young actors develop,” she said. “I love guiding them through the process of acting, teaching a skill that suddenly makes a scene click, and then watching them take off with it. 

Since many of the young actors featured in “Junie B.” have little to no theater experience, their eight-week rehearsal period was centered around growth, adaptability, and learning the ropes of stage production. “To me, being in a play is a lot like being on a sports team — you become a collaborative unit, and each person is essential to making the final performance come together,” Harty said. “Our cast — ranging in age from 11 to 64 — has amazed me over these eight weeks.”

The result is a delightful, laugh-out-loud 80 minutes of hard schoolyard lessons and holiday merriment — a must-watch for kiddos, parents and nostalgic “Junie B.” fans alike. Mr. Scary’s classroom, full of clashing, cartoonish personalities, learns to collaborate, share and empathize in classic, holiday-movie fashion. 

The entire cast is charming, clearly having a ball sharing something they’ve worked so hard to master. What they lack in age, they make up for in heart, energy and confidence on stage. 

Lead actress Gray, sassy and headstrong, is excellent as the titular diva — in her first community play, no less. Zora King steals scenes as spoiled brat Lucille, unashamed to disclose her family’s abundant wealth to her peers. 

Also a first-timer, Anna Rosonke as May isn’t the “meanie” Junie B. decrees, but a goody two-shoes. She carries that sweet but uncompromising attitude throughout the play.

Gorge community theater veteran on-stage and behind the scenes, Mike Daly as Mr. Scary isn’t as frightening as his name might suggest. He’s a calming, authoritative presence, hardly wrangling an unruly classroom, while simultaneously guiding his junior actors. Daly credits his two boys, Oskar and Anders, for inspiring the range of Mr. Scary’s animated reactions throughout the show. 

Rounding out the main cast are the boys, Mason Epstein, Castle Stuart, and Whit Schwarz as Sheldon, Herb and Jose, respectively. Whether telling stories about their cavalcade of curious relatives, supporting Junie B. or participating in general shenanigans, they’re a constant source of comedy. 

The set decorations were thoughtfully designed, including colorful, hand-painted, hand-crafted fixtures resembling crayons, toy blocks and a giant composition book. All together, the stage resembles a fantastical, surrealized first-grade classroom, eliciting the childlike wonder associated with elementary school during the holiday season. 

You can catch Junie B. and company at CCA again this weekend. Tickets and showtimes are available at columbiaarts.org, with curtain call slated for Dec. 14 at 2 P.M.