Aesop? Who's Aesop? and A Walk in the Woods were a cute couple of shows demonstrating Mid Michigan Family Theatre's unique ability to enfold a large cast (34) of all ages into a somewhat uneven but beautiful bouquet of storytelling. This theatre is a great place to get kids started in theatre, and have the opportunity for parents/grandparents to act alongside them.
Aesop was a collection of the fables acted out under the premise of a diplomatic mom (Joy Bilbey) teaching the "morals" of the fables to her two scrapping kids (Stanley Bullard and Kadie McEvers) Aesop was well played by MMFT "veteran" Nick Vogel. One tiny 5-year old, who looked 3, did an excellent job, but the "ensemble" was not listed by character in the program, so...
A Walk in the Woods, by Debbie Metzler, was a funny, convoluted mash-up of Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and a few spare nursery rhymes. Clever, I think, but a little complicated for preschoolers, and not every actor had good diction and volume (and I had alternate 4-year-olds jockeying for my lap, so I'm probably not the best judge of the script.) The highlight for my young audience was a chase-upon-chase scene in which every character with a reason to chase another character did so. I especially enjoyed the witch Stephanie Charlot; Goldilocks, Samatha (Samantha? could be a program typo) White; Jack Horner, Nate Bilbey; and the Wolf, Sam Bilbey.
This double bill continues at 3pm Saturday and Sunday April 27 & 28 - $5 for preschoolers; $7 for students and adultsAlfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center, 5825 Wise Road, Lansing 48911. Enter the southeast corner of the building.
www.mmft.net
Aesop was a collection of the fables acted out under the premise of a diplomatic mom (Joy Bilbey) teaching the "morals" of the fables to her two scrapping kids (Stanley Bullard and Kadie McEvers) Aesop was well played by MMFT "veteran" Nick Vogel. One tiny 5-year old, who looked 3, did an excellent job, but the "ensemble" was not listed by character in the program, so...
A Walk in the Woods, by Debbie Metzler, was a funny, convoluted mash-up of Goldilocks, The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and a few spare nursery rhymes. Clever, I think, but a little complicated for preschoolers, and not every actor had good diction and volume (and I had alternate 4-year-olds jockeying for my lap, so I'm probably not the best judge of the script.) The highlight for my young audience was a chase-upon-chase scene in which every character with a reason to chase another character did so. I especially enjoyed the witch Stephanie Charlot; Goldilocks, Samatha (Samantha? could be a program typo) White; Jack Horner, Nate Bilbey; and the Wolf, Sam Bilbey.
This double bill continues at 3pm Saturday and Sunday April 27 & 28 - $5 for preschoolers; $7 for students and adultsAlfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center, 5825 Wise Road, Lansing 48911. Enter the southeast corner of the building.
www.mmft.net
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