Pinkalicious

Chances are if you have a little girl who is into pink, you have heard of Pinkalicious. You may have even read it once or twice, or a thousand times. I know we have! It is, in fact, one of "The Pink Books," a collection of stories that must all be read together, it seems, and are all either pink or princess, and some are both! So when we heard that Stages Theatre Company was putting the book on stage, I knew we would be going.

Kiddo is a good sport and he likes going to plays. Even though Pinkalicious isn't his favorite story (there are no dragons or LEGOS), he was game to go. Even Daddy took the morning to go with us. He sometimes feels left out because we go to so many fun things! That meant Kutey had the best seat in the house, Daddy's lap. Gotta love that.



The highlights of the play? For Kutey, "EVERYTHING!" Yep, it was a play made for her. For Kiddo, the bicycle built for 4 complete with a security system. It was rather entertaining! I especially enjoyed watching dad retrieve the bicycle. The actors who portrayed Mom and Dad were also very entertaining. I enjoyed their performances. And the dancing cupcakes. Who doesn't like dancing cupcakes!



As with any adaptation of a picture book, there had to be a bit of embellishing. They stuck to the basic story, but added a few things in. For one thing, Dad was a much bigger character in the play than he was in the book. So was the friend. And there were songs. Most of the additions to the storyline were simply embellishments of what exists in the book and songs that played off parts of the story line. The staging was thoughtful and interesting, bright and colorful with enough pink to fit the general theme of the play.

It was an interesting performance. The performers were fine, and did well with the material given to them. I guess I just didn't like some of the material given to them. Examples? Just a couple. At one point, the friend, Alison, gets upset because Pinkalicious forgets to bring her one of the cupcakes. She storms off, saying "I'm not playing with you, you're not my friend," or something to that effect. Now, I *KNOW* this happens in real life, particularly among girls of elementary age, but does it really need to be reinforced as OK in a theater production directed specifically at that age group? Eventually, they resolve their differences, but I was left feeling like they could have either avoided that all together, or done a better job of using it to model better problem solving. It just wasn't necessary to the storyline.

They also devoted an entire song to the line, "You get what you get and you don't get upset." OK, yes. BUT...they ended up taking it a little to far. And the book at least says "but I did get upset." The song seemed to sort of make it seem as though feeling upset was not OK. I work hard to let my kids know that emotions are OK. It is OK to be upset. That doesn't mean they will get what they want. You still get what you get. The positive line from the song? "Sometimes life doesn't turn out just exactly as planned." I can get behind that. But it is OK to be sad when that happens. It is OK to be upset. It is OK, even, to be angry. Kids need to learn to recognize those emotions, recognize what is going on, and handle them appropriately. Life isn't always going to come out as you hoped, that is true, but bottling your emotions about that isn't going to help, either.

That is just writing, however, and should not take away from the performances of the actors. They did a fine job, I just wasn't entirely pleased with the adaptation. Probably just me! The kids didn't seem to care! They enjoyed the performance.

(clunk, clunk, scrape)

OK, Off my soap box.

We will continue to go to Stages Theatre, because they do put on wonderful shows. We loved The Snowy Day last year! There are only a couple I am interested in next season, but it seems one a year is what we can get to!

FRONT ROW SEATS!

(This post is part of the back log I am working on. If you are getting it in a reader, I apologize, things will be out of order!)
OK, so it was a Children's Theatre School Matinee, but we were still in the front row!

We went to see Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins! The Children's Theatre has produced this play before; Hubby had seen it way back in the day. He was thrilled to get to share it with his kids this time.

It was FANTASTIC. I am always skeptical when they try to convert a children's story into a play. It can go wrong in so many ways, especially if it is a story you love! This one did not disappoint, however.

Bartholomew was played by a very talented 13-year-old, Braxton Baker. The King of Didd is played by Bradley Greenwald, who never disappoints--his voice if fantastic! His eyes are exceptionally expressive--important in this role because of the beard the king has! If you don't know the story, you really should read it. It is not written in typical Seuss style, which is interesting. The play does a very good job of following the storyline, while adding little things that create interest.

And the HATS! Oh, the hats. Lots of hats. Appearing on Bartholomew's head. In very creative ways.

There were a few moments that I absolutely loved. The first was when Bartholomew and the king are complaining about how nothing happens in their respective lives--which was staged very well--and Bartholomew's mother comes and asks him what he is doing. His response? "Sitting stock still on the stump of a tree." I laughed. He delivered it so well!

The other was a song later in the play, when the king and Bartholomew are lamenting they ever complained of their lives being dull. They sing a song, with Sir Alric. The lyrics were quite touching, "I never once noticed how happy I was." Love it. Need to remember that.

The executioner was fantastic, too! Funny, and not the least bit scary, as an executioner could be.


For school matinees, when the play is over some actors and usually a crew person come back and take questions from the audience. I always love to hear the questions the kids come up with. Sometimes the answers to the questions are obvious, and sometimes they ask the same question as the previous person--it is just about asking the question. But sometimes they are great. This time they really wanted to know about the hats. Being true theater people, they gave away none of the secrets.

The Snowy Day

My kids thoroughly enjoy going to the theater. And I love taking them. I kind of try to hit one play every 2 months--give or take. I also try to hit different theaters, different types of performances. Last fall we went to "Bert and Ernie, Goodnight!" at the Children's Theatre Company. Big production, very professional. We followed that with a community education production of Winnie-the-Pooh. Much smaller scale production, much less professional, held in a middle school auditorium with the old bowl fiberglass chairs and the swing up desks. The kids loved both productions, and that is kind of the point!

Our February production was at a smaller theater that partners with a couple of special area schools. Stages Theater is a gem! We saw The Snowy Day, based on the book by Ezra Jack Keats. The book is a favorite around here. We own at least three copies. Kutey used to recite it (as a two-year-old) as we drove from place to place. It was so cute. So when I saw it on the schedule, I knew we had to go. In spite of our balcony seating (I usually prefer the main floor, and a little closer to the action), the production was very engaging. It was very loosely based on the book, sort of the important pieces were there but were definitely expanded and added to. It was a musical, with lots and lots of singing and dancing (there were even kids who danced on in-line skates which stood in for ice skates--pretty impressive!) There was a cast of about 20 kids and 3 adults. And every one of them was fantastic.

The story itself was very well done. The scenes that were needed to keep it close to the book were present--the snowball, the mountain climbing, the tracks, the stick, the bathtub complete with funky tile. They even managed to make Peter's snow clothes look like the book--with the pointy head! There were moments that made me cry, though, because the story is about a little boy and his imagination and how some day he will be a man. Yeah, the stuff of tear-jerkers for moms' who just want their little ones to be little for as long as possible.

I think it was especially fun for the kids to see how great a performance featuring kids can be! We won't likely make it to another Stages theater production this season, but judging by the list for next season, we will be back!

Bert and Ernie, Good Night!

We are fortunate to live in an area with a strong performing arts community. There are theaters everywhere, and many of them do shows oriented to children. The premiere theater for children here is The Children's Theatre Company. We attended a performance there last winter (on last minute $5 tickets). This year I thought we might see a few shows--but it might end up being only 1 again. While their shows NEVER disappoint (they have been around since before Hubby and I were kids), their prices, well, they are a bit steep. I am planning more theater trips, but I think we will mix it up a bit and see shows at other venues as well.

We did, however, fit the world premiere of "Bert and Ernie, goodnight!" into our exceptionally busy schedule. Kiddo and Kutey LOVED it. We went as a school group, which saved us a bit, and gave us the opportunity to see the performance while the kids were still fresh in the morning instead of when they were tired from the day.

The play was phenomenal! The actors did a fabulous job of portraying the beloved Sesame Street characters. The staging was impressive--the whole thing took place in Bert and Ernie's bedroom. It is a musical with lots of great songs throughout the performance. "I'd Like to Visit the Moon," and "Doing the Pigeon" both appear. Many of the skits we have seen and LOVED on Sesame Street were adapted to fit the story and stage. The basic premise is that Ernie can't go to sleep, and Bert wants to. Hilarity abounds as Bert tries to find a way to get Ernie to go to sleep.

Two favorite moments: Ernie "testing" whether or not Bert is asleep by poking him, and the poem "The Park" By Ernie.

It only runs through October 25, 2009 here. If you get a chance to see it, take it! I would love to take the kids back and see it again!

Willy Wonka Jr.

We live on the border of two school districts, which has advantages. One of those advantages is the existence of two community education programs within easy driving distance. In fact, many of the activities for the district we do not live in are closer than those for the district we DO live in.
This summer, BOTH community education programs selected the same play to perform: Willy Wonka Jr. And worse, the two productions were the same week. I thought about seeing both, but in the end, we wound up only getting to one--the one in the district I do not live in.

It was quite well done. The actors were all between the ages of 5 and 15 and there were only a few mistakes. We saw it fairly close to the first performance, so some of the mistakes I chalked up to nerves. And none of them detracted from the overall performance. My kids loved it. They always enjoy going to theater performances, and I think they are excellent theater patrons: They sit quietly, don't kick the seat in front of them, applaud when appropriate, and are respectful of others around them. A performance like this is wonderful for teaching them these behaviors. I never had to ask them to please be quiet, nor did anyone else. I will not say the same for the handful of young boys behind me who seemed to think there was no one else in the theater! They finally settled down after a few pointed shushings.

The production in general was very good. The young man who played Willy Wonka did an excellent job. He sang beautifully and delivered some lines very well. The boy who played Charlie, though, was I thought the best performer in the show. There was just something about his portrayal of Charlie that made it utterly believable. Grandpa Joe was very well done, too.

The Oompa Loompas were the youngest members of the cast and did a very good job. They had a great deal of choreography to remember, and I found myself wondering if Kiddo would have been able to remember all the words to the songs and what he was supposed to be doing.

We have seen the movies, so the story wasn't new to us. I think the play was a bit easier to get the lessons out of, however. There just wasn't so much business going on, so the words, especially in the songs, were more prominent. I picked up the Roald Dahl book from my library (well, not my library, the neighboring library), so we will do it for read aloud as soon as we complete Alice in Wonderland.

They are putting on Winnie-the Pooh this fall, and I can't wait! For less than $20, it is a great outing for the kids.