The Preschool Valentine's Day Performance: A Critique

While I am related to one of the performers in this piece, I promise you, my review is completely unbiased. This critic would never let her feelings for her child and his classmates color her perception in any way.

Prior to the performance, this critic talked to one of the artists. Here is what he had to say:

"This is going to be the best show ever, Mom! You are going to love it!"

Pretty heady words coming from someone who had never performed in front of an audience before.* Could the show live up to the hype? In the words of one sibling person who got to see the dress rehearsal, "They are really cute."

 After a brief introduction, the show got underway only a few minutes late. The venue was packed, with a number of latecomers needing to stand in the back. But despite its small size, the classroom theater was well-appointed, with plenty of festive decorations.

Excitement was in the air as the performers filed in to the tune of, "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Their voices were the perfect level for the small venue, though there was some faltering as they assembled themselves on the risers. Still, it was an enthusiastic and bold opening. One doesn't normally associate "Yankee Doodle Dandy" with Valentine's Day.

Our photographer would like to apologize for the blurriness. And the fact that this is the only performer who would sign a release. 

Next up was The Pledge of Allegiance. The performers nailed their lines in this segment. Too bad not all of them managed to use their right hands to cover their hearts. But this critic has seen plenty of adults at sporting events have the same problem during the national anthem, but with less grasp of the words. 

The song about Groundhog Day was followed by a delightful scene where one performer interviewed all the other performers about their feelings on six more weeks of winter. Answers varied, as did enthusiasm levels. But no one ran off the stage crying or refused to answer. In fact, all the performers were engaged throughout the entire show. Having seen many of them participate in soccer games last fall, I can assure you that this was an amazing feat. The producers and the directors of the show are to be commended. 

The part that touched this critic especially was during the song about love, during which each child brought a specially made Valentine to his or her mother. It was beautiful to see the mixture of pride and love on all the faces in the room, which I suspect is what the show creators were aiming for. 

Another highlight was the song, "Forever Friends". Not only was it the most upbeat, it featured the performers using inflatable guitars. Hand gestures can be cute choreography, but nothing beats a bunch of kids with guitars almost as big as they are. 

The Preschool Valentine's Day Performance was not the best show ever if you compare it to Wicked or a Bruce Springsteen concert. But compared to other preschool performances, it just might be. Unfortunately, it was in limited run so you can no longer get tickets. Hopefully they'll bring it back as a revival for their kindergarten concert. And the performer was completely right about one thing: I totally loved it. 

*The performed had participated in a couple of programs at his old preschool, but he just stood still during them, like a deer caught in headlights.

Theater Thursday: The Commons of Pensacola

Last summer, before their house sold and before my mom had her operation, my dad got a bunch of theater tickets for December. One set was our family Xmas gift for Annie.  We loved seeing Annie with the kids, I forgot how much I enjoyed that show.

The other tickets were for more serious plays for him and my mom.

But then the house sold and the move was planned for right after Christmas. And then my mom had her operation. So Hot Guy and I have been taking turns accompanying my Dad into the city to see plays. It's rough, let me tell ya. 

Anyway, a few weekends ago I got to see The Commons of Pensacola starring Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker. 

broadwayworld.com

It was at the Manhattan Theater Club, which is a fantastic venue - small, but with excellent seating. I love not having to worry if a tall person sits in front of me. Anyway, so now I've seen Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner up close. I don't know if they've had plastic surgery or use some magical cream or are just incredibly genetically blessed, but damn they look fabulous. I realize that has nothing to do with the show, but I just had to let my gossipy side out for a minute. 

Oh, also, I thought it was sad that Sarah Jessica left her best movie, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, out of her theater bio. When I remarked upon it, the guy next to me (the one that wasn't my dad) totally agreed with me. Don't forget where you came from, SJP! 

The play itself has some really brilliant lines. Amanda Peet (from Something's Gotta Give and Bent and The Good Wife) can definitely write dialogue. And her premise, about the a holiday gathering of the family of a Bernie Madoff-like con man, is solid. But I wanted more. I felt like the ending was just tacked on to give it some kind of ending, that the play  started slow and built momentum that just disappeared in the last third. 

There was no intermission, I believe the whole thing was not much more than an hour. So I felt like she could have had more time to finish the story, if she wanted. Hot Guy used to do these plays and musicals at a nearby university, where the entire point was for the author or authors to see where the flaws were and tweak them to make a better production. Workshopping. One of the plays Hot Guy did eventually became a movie, even. I think the Commons of Pensacola would have benefited from a lot more workshopping. 

This is probably the part where a real theater critic would then specify exactly why the play didn't work as well as it could have, but I'm not a real theater critic. Obviously.