“Working for the Mouse”, brainchild of Trevor Allen, one-man show extraordinaire, is being revived at the Impact Theater, located in the basement of La Val’s Pizza on the north side of campus. Based on Allen’s time spent as a teenage actor playing Disney characters at the SoCal theme park, “Working for the Mouse” is a hypnotizing whirlwind of characters, some beautiful, some obnoxious, and some just straight up crazy. And that’s not even including the Disney characters.
If there’s a lesson to be learned from “Working”, it’s that it’s good to be crazy, if not required, to work at Disneyland. Sex, drugs and magic pixie dust are the order of the day at the Happiest Place on Earth, and Allen’s wide-eyed 17-year-old version of himself anchors the whole psychedelic experience. Allen’s infatuation with Disneyland as a kid motivated him to work for the mouse after graduating from high school, moving from the East Bay to the desolate OC area of Anaheim.
The ensuing summer brought unholy insanity and Allen chronicles the mayhem with an eye for detail and a gift for voices. Jumping in and out of various personas, Allen is a one-man ensemble, bringing dozens of characters into the fold, from Tammy, the 21-year old bombshell blonde who plays Alice in Wonderland, to Gary, the pissed-off midget who is supposed to be Allen’s “buddy”, though is more tough love and Hitler youth jokes than kind friendship.
Thrilling adventures through abandoned mine cart rides and after-hours parties with the entire Disney Brass Band covered in body paint and nothing else are just a few of the various situations Allen finds himself him. Yet no matter how much trouble Allen gets into, it’s his good humor and cheer, both past and present, that pulls us, as well as him, through his Disney ordeals. Most importantly, the stories ring true, with Allen’s triumphs and heartbreaks registering as genuine and endearing.
A story about at kid named Scotty and an imaginary baseball is particularly heartfelt and tragic, and provides an emotional arch to the entire performance. With a sense of black humor similar to that of “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Working for the Mouse” is an absolutely hilarious time, with enough Disney magic and Hitler references for the whole family. Running at the Impact Theater until July 8th.
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