There is nothing that strikes fear into the hearts of theatre goers like the thought of an audience full of the under 10 year old set, much less the under 5 year old set. Such was the crowd; they were kind enough to bring along their parents and other concerned adults. This was an energetic and creative presentation of the words and spirit of Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle, Green Eggs and Ham, as well as an improvised story of how a young fellow named Tiffany reclaimed his lost bicycle in the town of Parisville.
Just so you know, Parisville was divided by a bitter contest over the importance of ice cream vs. snow cones. Thankfully, all was peacefully resolved, and Tiffany not only got his bike back, he was able to change his name to the more manly Mitch, later in life.
The actors sang and clambered all over the tiny studio stage in a manner that captivated the young folks. The dialogue was quick and clever, a few jokes dropped in here and there especially for the adults. I particularly liked The Maestro's choice of Queen's "Bicycle, bicycle" as the theme music for the Tiffany tale.
With a grand piano taking center stage, literally, the actors used the entire theatre space, running out into the audience frequently, involving children and parents in the action of the tales. After the show, which ran a nicely paced 55 minutes, the actors remained in the lobby, available for signatures and introductions.
This might be the best way to allow young folks to learn the wonders of live theatre, in an intimate setting designed just for them. Actually, I'm sure that there's a bunch of adults out there that could use a dose of the Dr.'s medicine.