By JONAH LIPSKY

Fame was the production theme for Camp Jabberwocky’s annual July theatre performance last Friday and Saturday. Their Fame had a huge cast, lots of laughs, moments of beauty, and Darth Vadar.

In a divergent twist from the original plotline of Fame, Darth Vadar (played by camper Matt Lagunawich) comes on as the evil city politician who is behind the attempt to shut down the Jabberwocky School of the Performing Arts. In the end, Vadar’s evil heart is melted, though, and he is unmasked. The role of the accountant who decides that the Jabberwocky School of the Performing Arts is too expensive was played brilliantly by Jacob Palches, counselor of three years.

Jabberwocky’s productions are full of divergence; they twist the notion of disability (the camp is for disabled, and those who performed did so without regard to their cerebral palsy, their Down Syndrome or their autism), they twist the notion of beauty and they remind us of the essence of entertainment when they perform for the general public in an incredibly friendly and fun-filled evening.

Suzanne Reppert, a longtime fan of the Jabberwocky shows, said, “Everyone is a star there. It is a time for everyone to shine.”

The campers are truly given moments to shine: some singing, some dancing, some acting. Each one shone with the love of the counselors who encouraged the campers to take a solo and the perseverance of the campers who want to do something beautiful.

It all vividly shows the nature of beauty to be something quite different from technical accuracy: A flail of the arm or neck here, a whispy vocal note there, and a whole lot of leaps in the hearts of the audience.

Highlights of the evening included the recitation, as ever, of the Jabberwocky poem by camp founder Helen Lamb to start the show, the company number I Will Survive, as well as the numerous solo dance and song numbers by the campers.

Making the evening possible is the troupe of hardworking camp counselors (all of whom are volunteers), the codirectors of the camp Johanna (Jo Jo) Romero de Slavy and Arthur Bradford, and the director of the play, Madeline Way.

The attitude of the camp, which could be well described as “Loud and Proud,” comes from its roots in the founder of the camp, Mrs. Lamb, affectionately known as Hellcat. The camp does not hide its peculiarity but rather celebrates the nature of its campers. Indeed the poem Jabberwocky, by Lewis Caroll, where the camp gets its name, has more made-up words then real ones. This is to celebrate the imagination and making acceptable and normal what is at first unusual and different.

Jabberwocky campers often can be heard shouting “Jump!” to timid divers on the big bridge from their bright red bus, or seen jamming as the suns sets on Tuesdays at State Beach with Rick Bausman and his cadre on congas and other drums. The campers are everywhere on the Island, it sometimes feels, because they are committed to having a good time and they know that the disabilities of the campers are not contradictory to that noble endeavor. It is, like their show, a reminder of what really is beautiful in life.