I laughed and laughed through the whole thing

“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” was a very funny show. I laughed and laughed through the whole thing because it was soooo silly. One of my favorite parts was when the mouse was dancing and shaking his booty. Another favorite part was when the mouse blew bubbles in his milk with a straw. Oh, another funny part was when he was playing like he was in the jungle. But my most favorite part was when the hair balls starting chasing the boy and the mouse all over the kitchen…I laughed so hard at that part. I had so much fun that I went back to see the show again with some friends from school! – Taylor, age 5

It is a powerful experience.

Tom Lycos and Stefo Nantsou did an amazing job pulling a story out of the headlines and bringing it to the stage. As a mother of a 13-year-old boy and a professional having worked with young people in the Juvenile Justice system for many years, I have to say that these grown men did a fantastic job portraying teen age boys. Their posture, mannerisms, tone and dress switched so dramatically between the characters that this two man show was fascinating and entertaining to watch. The situations that were created on stage also depicted a reality for what actually does happen for many at-risk youth. Activities that seem victimless to a young person (breaking into garages, damaging property, and throwing stones) really are damaging, and more than just to property. Taking the journey with the two boys from the pranks they pulled to the final verdict provided a powerful platform for further discussion with my son. The scene where the two policemen were at odds regarding what the outcome should be for the boys provided a great opportunity for people to consider both sides of the situation. What if it was my son who had made the mistake? What if it was my parent that had died? These questions force you to take a deeper look at what your personal values around the topic and sparks conversation about consequences to our actions. As an added bonus, the guitar playing before and throughout the play was a great way to get connected with a teen audience. It is a powerful experience and I would recommend it to anyone pre teen and older. - Jocelyn

An extraordinary performance by two unusual actors

Above, all The Stones is an extraordinary performance by two unusual actors. Tom Lycos and Stefo Nantsou are middle-aged and physically unprepossing: one is snaggle-toothed, the other too small to meet the standard stage requirements; both have the kind of face one is likely to encounter at any Minnesota bus stop. Magically, they transform this all-too-ordinary clay into two unforgettable teen-aged boys, characters at once representative and unique. There’s something silly about trying to capture these astonishing performances in words; you really do have to be there. Lycos and Nantsou embody the kids, two cops, a cat, a Jaguar, a bridge, a freeway…. There’s nothing but them, and that suffices perfectly.

The boys kill a man by behavior that is entirely consonant with who they are, with their heart-breaking immaturity, and with their reckless thrill-seeking. As is so often true in real life, the results of their behavior are out of proportion with their intent. The piece sets up the questions about responsibility, blameworthiness, consequences and appropriate punishment that make juvenile courts the most fascinating part of the criminal justice system. Best of all, the artists do not neatly resolve those questions. The truth in such cases is always a mess, and it cannot be dramatized fairly in plays that draw to a tidy close.

It is hard to make really good theatre out of this kind of material. Most of the time, the efforts are preachy and didactic or veer into melodrama that is both more histrionic and more boring than the facts. The Stones is, against all the odds, really good theatre.