Shrek Review

Mike is out of town for a few days at a training, so I brought the kids with me to a rehearsal for Shrek: The Musical, in which I play the "wicked" witch. I was a little nervous since we had let them stay up to watch the Super Bowl the previous night--we got home around 11--and I knew we would be at least 45 minutes past their bedtime going to rehearsal, but it was important that I be there, so we went. I had them dress in pajamas, so all we would have to do brush teeth and use the toilet once more before hitting the sack. 

The first 45 minutes was mopping up some sloppy dancing and singing, but then we went through the entire first act. I moved the kids to the front row and they ended up sitting next to the man playing Donkey. I introduced them, told them he worked at the lab Dad did, said he played Donkey and was hilarious--they didn't care. They avoided eye-contact and Finn wouldn't sit in the seat next to him (which, at the time, was the only one available) so he sat on the floor until Jon was called up on stage.

Madie said she found me to be funny. She got a kick out of my whiny Brooklyn accent. My only competition, according to her, was when Fiona enters for the first time, smashing Shrek behind a (currently imaginary) storybook page, and says, "Welcome to Fiona: The Musical! Let's talk about me!" while kicking a heel up behind her.

Finn thought that was funny as well, but, like I had promised him, nothing held a candle to Jon Wood as Donkey. The man is hilarious. And he and Shrek have great chemistry.

"Did you like it, Finn?"

Finn's got a great laugh. It's a contagious, hearty chuckle. And when he gets going, there's no inoculation. He laughed so hard through every scene with Donkey, the cast that was sitting in the seats couldn't stop laughing either. Some people have asked that I bring him to every show to encourage any lack-luster audiences.

On the way home, he asked me if I knew of any "plays with just four-year olds." 

"You mean plays four-year olds can be in, or plays that only have four-year olds?" 

He meant the latter.

"Well, I don't think we're likely to find any plays with strictly four-year olds in it, but when you're a little older, I would love for you to do a play if you're still interested." 

Acadia Community Theater actually does usually allow children of any age to participate in their shows--this is a notable exception, you have to be in at least 3rd grade, simply because of the amount of work we need to get through in the amount of time we have. But rehearsals regularly go until 8 pm, and later during Hell Week, so I didn't let Madie start until she was 6. I don't know if Finn will be ready by then--lack of sleep is a much bigger factor in his moods than it is in Madie's--but I do hope he'll keep an interest. For right now, he's just really excited to see the play in April.