Family Theatre brings puns and fun to the stage with ‘Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment’
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Audiences will once again be cracking up during this year’s Family Theatre performance of “Law and Order C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment.”
“I have great memories of doing it the first time, the music is really catchy, the humor is ridiculous and hysterical and I just knew it would be a super fun show to bring back,” Director Penelope Haskew responded when asked why she had chosen the musical. “When I floated the idea to people who had been involved in or seen the 2014 version, the response was unanimous and enthusiastic that I should bring it back.”
In this “Law and Order” spoof, the plot revolves around Inspector and the Punnish Sir, played by Seqoia Bair, who has been called in to investigate a crime scene where a Mister Humpty Dumpty has been found shattered. Foul play is suspected, and Punnish Sir is scrambling to find the suspect.
In this nursery rhyme justice system, individuals are represented by two separate yet equally important groups — the detectives investigating the crime, and the magistrates prosecuting the defenders.
Without giving away some of the puns, Haskew says, “Honestly, some of my favorites are more about seeing the kids figure out what the pun is about than the pun itself. Some are just subtle enough that the penny doesn’t drop immediately and there is delayed reaction laughter.”
For all the “eggs-elent” puns, the music is equally full of yolks.
“I really love something about every number but I think the ones I was most eager to see again were ‘Mountain of Love’ and ‘Group Therapy’ which each feature kids that regular theatre goers will recognize from past shows going all the way back to ‘I Never Saw Another Butterfly,’” Haskew said, adding “I love watching the kids and parents watching each other’s scenes. We’ve only just started rehearsing all together, so there have been some fun discoveries for both groups.”
The young theater troupe appears to be enjoying the “Law and Order” spoof as well. “We have had a lot of laughs in rehearsals and they are doing a great job of delivering all the jokes. They may be surprised once they start getting audience reactions, but I know they’ll love that,” Haskew said.
The cast includes 61 youth, grades one through six, as well as 16 parents. There are also parents helping build and move the set, design costumes, provide food for the communal dinners, typically feeding 84 people working on the show, according to Haskew, making the production an island affair.
“With all those others, we’d be looking at over 100 community members contributing to this production,” she said.
In family theater, parents typically perform a special scene. This year is no different; in fact, they have a variety of moments in the spotlight, including a song and dance number choreographed by Lisa Duke.
When asked if there was anything the audience should keep an eye out for, Haskew responded, “There are a lot of moving parts in the show, and a lot of references to both nursery rhymes and crime dramas so audiences will get a kick out of those.”
She also gave a shout-out to her longtime collaborators, including Callie McKay on costumes, Mary Hurley on props and Lisa Duke on choreography, and “all of whom worked with me on the 2014 version of the show. We’ve all been thrilled that this year, our tech kids have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. Lilleigh Hasty has been absolutely priceless, helping out with costumes as well as working with Liam DeYoung to choreograph ‘Mountain of Love.’ Avaline Anderson has choreographed ‘Pun Master,’ Lucian Axling has been producing all sorts of set pieces and props and Lumin Bouwman has been elevating design elements,” Haskew continued. “Liam and Lucian are also sharing the job of Stage Manager so that they can each get experience working with our Production Manager, Adam Parrott, and learning to call the show.”
Seeing as this production falls under the umbrella of the Education Department here at San Juan Community Theatre has been an incredible step, Haskew says. “I’m very proud of these students. I’m also very excited to have Kelly Harrison joining us this year as music director! She was most recently seen here as Tori in ‘Freaky Friday’ and she’s been just as essential an assistant to me on this show as her character was to mine in that! It’s fun too to have some original cast members back on board doing tech; Sidney Herda, the original Dr. Foster [2014 edition](from Gloucester), is now SJCT’s Production Assistant and Alison Power, the original Mary of the Shoe [2014 edition], will be running the lightboard.”
“Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment” runs Nov. 20 through Nov. 23. Thursday through Saturday, the show starts at 7 p.m., while Sunday’s matinee begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for students. Thursday is pay-what-you-can. To buy tickets or learn more, visit https://www.sjctheatre.org/.
