Playtime Productions' Ali Baba and a Few Thieves, with Sparkly Sea Cow playing the storyteller Dunyazad (Shahrazad's younger sister) opened last night to rave reviews ... from parents and loved ones. If you're in the geographic vicinity (or you just want to fly in for the weekend,) the schedule is here. They'll be performing all over the county for the next 5 weeks. It is a very funny, campy musical production that features 5 daughters you hope you'll never have, a diminutive chief thief, a talking camel, and more. You won't be bored or disappointed, guaranteed.
Ali Baba was Cinderbelle's first play with Playtime, 7 years ago. It was fun to see how the director changed it this time around.
Playtime Productions is a wonderful community theater. It is children's theater in the best sense of the word -- plays for children, acted by children. The actors are in 3rd through 9th grade. They work long and hard, but the adults in charge are always cognizant of the fact that they are working with kids. It's always about building community and giving kids a theatrical experience, not producing child stars.
On a side note, Thursday evening I went to see a traveling Broadway production of Annie. Sparkly Sea Cow was supposed to go with her grandpa, but she had her final dress rehearsal, so I filled in. I don't like Broadway musicals much, and the underlying story of Annie is kind of a creepy celebration of capitalism (or as my stepfather, the old Socialist, said, "It's a nice fairytale") plus those songs ... those insipid songs get stuck in my head and I find myself humming, "The sun will come out tomorrow ..." ad nauseum until I am ready to beg someone to put me out of my misery! Nevertheless, I was enjoying myself. The girls who played the orphans were all very good, but I made the mistake of reading their biographies on the program. It reminded me how grateful I am for the down-to-earth experiences my daughters have had in Playtime.
Pictures to follow.
5 comments:
Yay kids who do theatre! I wish I had had the opportunity to do that when I was her age. Good for her!
That is so great! I want to hear all about and see some photos.
Sparkly Sea Cow rocks in my book!
You'd best send me some pictures along with that cat, mother. I want to see what the show looks like. :-P
Please don't call me mother, Cinderbelle. It makes me feel like I'm in a Bobbsey Twins book. Pardon me, while I tie my apron!
Those kids did a great job, and so much of the work to put the show on is done by the kids. Good theater. Not just good for children's theater but good theater. Period. Very impressive. I give it two enthusiastic, well lubricated thumbs way, way up.
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