The Weekend 🙂

 

disclosureOur weekend went very quickly, as weekends are prone to do, especially if they are extra busy like this one was.  It began early with a stay at Platte River State Park in a small cabin with a view of the river (kind of) and a better view of horses milling about the pasture to our west.  I made lots of yummy food, Kelly wrote and I stewed over story-lines and words. Marcus enjoyed freedom from the chores lists and spent most of his time drawing and listening to music.

Sunday morning, Marcus and I packed up early in order to meet with another pair of friends and head up to the Disney Live, Three Classic Fairy Tales show at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux City, IA.  There was a show here in Omaha on Saturday, but as mentioned, we already had plans.  SO we made the short trek northward for this theatre event.

Marcus & Disney Theatre

Marcus is, of course, a huge fan of Disney and especially their theatre productions: Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King and Newsies. We did not have the opportunity to see The Little Mermaid live on Broadway, or Tarzan. (Although they are both also of great interest to Marcus and we enjoy the soundtracks and rare youtube videos.)  Each of these are HUGE Dollar Productions focused on savvy Broadway audiences and they all have had, let’s just say, seriously pricey tickets to match.

However, this show gave us a chance to enjoy the stories, the songs, and the fun of Disney close to home and without breaking the bank. In fact, at first glance at the ticket prices, my knee-jerk reply was to worry about what the show quality would bring.  Then I quickly reminded myself that Disney takes very good care of its brand, and they did not disappoint.

Bring a Princess

You can clearly see Avery is a Car Lovin' Princess!

You can clearly see Avery is a Car Lovin’ Princess!

 

This show is very Princess-centric, the stories of Snow-White, Cinderella, and Beauty. So we decided it would be a good idea to have a princess with us.  Our friend Avery and her mom, Sam, joined us as theater buddies for this show. This is the audience that Disney is thinking of when they put this show together, girls aged 3 to well…

Sam and I could not stop gaping at the beautiful costumes, oh my the dresses! In real life! The dresses! cinderella

The Review

Marcus loved the songs, carefully chosen from each story to keep the audience moving in their seats. The choreography was very impressive and the clever use of puppetry and “theater magic” gave the audience a great entry into these fairy tale worlds.  His exact quote in the car after the show was: “Wow. Awesome.”

To me, the most clever portion of the show’s design was the use of Disney’s core 4: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. They introduced stories and even joined into the stories, they cleverly engaged the audience with call and response, questions and answers. The pacing was perfect with a short break between 2 acts kept all of the children engaged and excited the entire production.  Sheer Disney magic from one minute to the next.

 

Halloween several years ago when I was a Fairy God-Mother

Halloween several years ago when I was a Fairy God-Mother

This show is travelling the county and if you have any Disney lovers in your life, I hope you can catch it.  And if you’re seeing it with a princess, or two, don’t be afraid to wear your princess dress, I even saw a mom or two dressed up.  I was seriously jealous.

Although the last time I dressed like a princess, I told Marcus I was too old. So we compromised on Fairy God-Mother, instead.  And yes, of course, you’ll see her there too!