Performing Arts

FORT WORTH – My response to Cootie Pancake: one-third charmed, one-third alarmed, one-third bored.

Shannon Atkinson

Peggy Bott Kirby as Maw Pancake and Harris Kirby as Paw Pancake

Hip Pocket Theatre begins its 32nd season with this umpteenth world premiere by founding artistic director Johnny Simons, who also directed. Categorized by the company as "a dark farce for adults," it's the story of a special child, Cootie Pancake, who spends 24 hours a day watching TV in his parents' basement. He is mesmerized by the traffic reporter of a morning news show, Sammi Zoomdeck, so his mother writes the station to ask if he can meet her.

Hip Pocket encountered a hitch in its plans for the season when an inspector questioned some of the on-site construction. So this first show takes place in a makeshift space that frankly has a certain charm that the usual one does not. It's in the shade of some big trees, where you can hear live music and have a drink before or after the play. As always, this remarkable group is managing to survive the obstacle in front of it.

The encounter between Cootie (Adam Dapkus) and Sammi (Emmy Klein) is at the heart of Cootie Pancake – and is the source of both its winsomeness and its distastefulness. As reviewed Sunday, Mr. Dapkus lovingly makes us feel the humanity under the character's challenges. But the writing as well as the performance skate blithely around cliché and stereotype. Some might take offense.

Even more bothersome are the sexual overtones between Mr. Dapkus and the radiant Ms. Klein. We never learn just how old Cootie is supposed to be, and we never find out exactly what goes on between the two characters. But there's a certain ick factor.

A large group, mostly composed of longtime Hip Pocket regulars, plays the rest of the TV news team. The broad satire – even the not-so-good-natured ribbing of Dallas – sometimes amuses. But the long dance number at the beginning of the TV scene adds nothing to the show, except laying down a bit of preparation for a later frolic for Cootie and Sammi.

PLAN YOUR LIFE Cootie Pancake, by Hip Pocket Theatre, runs through June 29 at Silver Creek Amphitheatre, Fort Worth. Runs 65 mins. $5 to $15. 817-246-9775, www.hippocket.org.