Shrek

Shrek
Boulder Dinner Theater
Boulder, CO
May 17 - September 6, 2014

Boulder Dinner Theater always schedules a kid-friendly show in the summer time and this year, it was Shrek. I had seen the national tour of this show and was intrigued to see it as a regional production.

The story and the characters are pretty much as you remember them from the movie. We do get a glimpse into the childhood of both Shrek and Fiona which helps flesh them out as the adults we see them as.

Most of all, the show is silly and fun. We meet a crazy assortment of fairy tale characters along the way. Donkey is as annoying and lovable as ever. We all know the story, but we love the journey.

The ogre make up is a bit messy and the costumes not always polished, but the charm of the show endures.We're cheering for Shrek to defeat the Lord Farquad (although you have to admire an actor who performs the entire show on his knees.)

The score is full of original songs, which are enjoyable if not memorable. You'll mostly remember the finale "I'm a Believer."  But the songs are funny and well placed throughout the show. As always, the Boulder Dinner Theater provides a talented cast. The sets and costumes never disappoint.

As an additional appeal to the children in the audience, after each performance you can purchase a photograph on the stage with the cast members.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan
Candlelight Dinner Theater
Johnstown, CO
June 19 - August 24, 2014

I'd seen Peter Pan earlier this year and my daughter loved it, so she was happy to see it again. This was our first visit to the Candlelight Dinner Theater. It was quite a drive to Johnstown but the drive was worth it.

The building itself was beautiful. A formal lobby and box office flowed smoothly into the hostess station where we seated quickly. I was glad I checked out the menu ahead of time because it was very hard to see inside the dining room. The menu had a Jamaican influence and unlike other dinner theaters I have visited in the past, the food was very tasty.

The dinner theater is huge and we were fairly far away. With the exception of the table across from us, the sight lines were very good. Our server was Wendy in the production and the service was good. The show, however, was even better.

The performers in many of the roles were very young, yet they were very talented. The audience was encouraged to boo every time Captain Hook walked on stage and he enjoyed every minute of it. It made the show a bit more fun to be interactive like that, especially for the kids. The flying was also delightful to watch the flying sequences, even if you could see the wires.

After the show, all the major characters were available in the lobby for photos. They stayed around for quite a long time, until there was no one left waiting. Such an exciting way to end the experience.

Tarzan

Tarzan
Arvada Center
Arvada, CO
July 6 - August 3, 2014

I've seen most of the Disney Broadway shows on tour, but Tarzan was one that had a short life on Broadway and never had a national tour that played in Denver.  So I was looking forward to seeing the regional premiere at the Arvada Center this summer.

Unlike some of the previous Disney on Broadway endeavors, Tarzan is not a natural transition to the stage. Most of the songs are not sung by the characters, rather are used as background. So it was interesting to see their incorporation into a musical.

The result was a refreshing new look at the story the movie tells. It's wonderful to hear Kala sing the entire song "You'll Be In My Heart" rather than the tiny sliver in the movie. She also performs "Son of Man" as we watch Tarzan grow up.

The stage version contains many new songs, "Waiting For This Moment" sung by Jane is chance to get to know her and the duet "For the First Time" is a tender moment missing from the film.

The performances at the Arvada Center were spectacular. The costumes for the apes were far out, suggestive and made the gap between man and beast thinner. Through this production, you felt more like we are "One Family."

The characters you love are all there and more endearing than ever. And the additional songs make the experience richer and don't take anything away from the original. It's just a reminder that the story and music are timeless.

Alice In Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland
Theatre-Hikes Colorado
Cherokee Ranch and Castle
Sedalia, CO
June 7 - July 6, 2014

Alice in Wonderland is the third production I've seen from Theatre-Hikes Colorado. The first two were performed at the Denver Botanic Gardens which was more like a nice walk than a hike. However, with the popular Chihuly exhibit I'm sure the Gardens didn't want to add to the crowds. It's really too bad because exhibit would have a perfect backdrop for Alice.

Today's performance was at Cherokee Castle and Ranch in Sedalia. It's a beautiful mountain setting and I could see we were in for a real hike. The group met in front of the castle and the staff made sure everyone checked in before the  hike began.

We followed a violin player who walked with our guide at the head of the group. When we arrived at the first location, the actors were already in place. There was a lovely blonde playing Alice and the rest of the actors played multiple characters. They didn't change clothing, but they added enough accessories for the audience to easily see who they were.

We hiked to five different locations for the five scenes. The cast used each of the locations well to frame the scene. The actors were clearly having fun with the ridiculous story and that only made it more fun for the audience. The script also included lesser known characters from the book which only kept us guessing even more.

The Theatre-Hikes productions are not the greatest performances you will ever see. But the choice of fun material and natural scenery make them more memorable.

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen
Aurora Fox Theater
Aurora, CO
June 10-26, 2014

With the success of Disney's Frozen, it's not surprising that local theaters will be adapting Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen to capitalize on the movie's success. The original story, however, is much different from the popular film.

The set and costumes were imaginative and a group of snowflakes acted as the narrator's of the show as we followed Gerta's journey to free her friend Kai from the evil snow queen. Her adventures included escape from a old woman with talking flowers and coming across a feisty wolf.

At the end, Gerta's love melts the heart of the Snow Queen and she announces she is "the queen of the sun." It is an abrupt, but satisfying conclusion. After the curtain call, the cast walked down the aisle to the lobby where they graciously met with the audience, which was mostly school groups. As it turned out, they were all kids and clearly enjoyed their time together.

The Tempest

The Tempest
The Colorado Shakespeare Festival
Mary Rippon Theater
Boulder, CO 
June 6 - August 10, 2014

When I attended the University of Colorado, I went to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Among the last plays I saw was The Tempest. That was many years ago, so I was interested to see how they would perform this classic play now.

When I arrived it was clear this would be a very different version. The set looked like a shipwreck and when the sun went down the lighting was magical.

As with all Shakespeare plays, we met a multitude of characters with various purpose. We meet Prospero, the tragic leading man and his daughter Miranda, the lovesick teenager. Stephano and Triniculo provide the comic relief. And we have a healthy dose of the supernatural with Ariel, the sprite and the monster, Caliban.

Many story lines intertwine on this magical island, but in the end all is well. (This is a comedy, after all.) The acting is stellar and the lighting superb at changing the stoic set into many locations. The Cirque De Soleil acrobatics of Ariel aren't seamless, but it's fun to watch. The special effects are dynamic, if not spectacular. The director has made the most of this space and the audience is always involved.

It's a magical event under the stars.

Fantasia Live in Concert

Fantasia Live in Concert
Colorado Symphony
Boettcher Concert Hall
Denver, CO 
May 10, 2014

The symphony is usually not a place children enjoy going. That is why performances like Fantasia In Concert are a brilliant idea. The original animation is shown on screens around the concert hall while the symphony plays the classical music live.

The musical selections were taken from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. In my opinion, they picked many of the best ones. The music is beautiful and timeless. The animation kept the attention of the kids in the audience. It was the best of all worlds.The whole experience was immersive. The kids felt they had seen a movie, the parents got to hear a classical concert.

It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to live classical music.