I’ve written many glowing words on modern indie kid’s music over the past half decade but I’m still prone give the sub-sub-sub genre an occasional WWE top rope smack down too, because song cycles for young ears too often ignore one obvious fact of childhood: moodiness.
The best all-ages kindie artists making the best all-ages kindie albums in the 2nd decade of the 21st century understand and demonstrate in song that the life of a child isn’t all unicorns and cupcakes. There’s boredom, sadness, loss, confusion, self-reflection, fear and frustration too, snuggled up alongside imaginative play, school projects, toys, giant cookies, jungle gyms, birthday parties and new baby sisters. Childhood is complex and wondrous. The best of kid’s theater understands this too.
The limitless potential of open-ended play and the power of a hyper-creative mind is both behind the scenes and on stage upstairs at the Plays and Players Theatre now through November 23rd in DREAM HOUSE: A Rainy Day Play, a world premiere production that respects the many moods of childhood. Situated on one of the prettiest streets in the city, the cozy ‘Off Off Broadway’ style theater on Delancey Street offers families an equally cozy seating arrangement — kids up front on bean bags, grown-ups behind them on mix of chairs and sofas not unlike the setup you’d expect to find in a bohemian cafe. But let’s not take our seats just yet, because before the doors even open to the Skinner Studio on the 3rd floor, DREAM HOUSE begins in uproarious fashion with a mix of the immersive and a spell of hilarious physical comedy that quickly pivots into an interactive agreement between surprised kids and the tremendously talented Jennifer MacMillan, an actor who’s boundless energy and many moods explode like a Welcome America fireworks show for the entirety of the 70 minute production.
I’m going to give nothing away, because I want you and your kids to experience DREAM HOUSE: A Rainy Day Play fresh — like visiting a magnificent natural place WITHOUT first Google Image searching that very place. (Why do we do that??) But know that the world premiere play by Jeremy Gable is every bit as buoyant as it is skittish, and excitable as it is terrified, without ever being even the slightest bit scary to young children. Everything that is beautiful and maddening about childhood (in the present day and in retrospect) is on display in DREAM HOUSE and that makes it a truly magical piece of theater for kids and former kids alike.
DREAM HOUSE: A Rainy Day Play runs Wed-Sun this week and next before closing on November 23, 2014. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for kids ages 4 and up. Those under 4 are free. Buy your tickets for DREAM HOUSE A Rainy Day Play now.
*OWTK received complimentary tickets to a recent performance of DREAM HOUSE. The opinions expressed above are honest and unbiased, as always.
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