***** As you know by now, I am an older person and for years I have relied on my grandkids to assist in reviews of Children’s Plays- as they aged, I had to seek children from friends and family to give me the youngest eyes in order to make my reviews palatable for parents and grandparents so they could decide if this was right for their families. Of late, I have had great success with Anna, and today, her younger brother Jack joined us ( along with their mother Fallon) at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire for the opening of “The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System” , a musical adaptation of one of the most beloved children’s books with music and lyrics by Matthew Lee Robinson and a book by Marshall Pallet.

The theater was filled with youngsters with parents and grandparents for this opening morning. Marriott’s program for young audiences is one that grabs the attention of the kids and locks them into the story for 60 minutes. Amazingly, the kids behave better than the adults. The direction and choreography by Katie Johannigman with musical direction by Ellie Kahn is terrific. Remember, Marriott is an -in-the-round venue, so there can be very little in the way of set, so it is very basic but the sound(John Johnson) and lighting effects (Megan Wines) helps to make the show work. Milo Blue ( set design) has used the existing “Joseph” pieces and has added some great beachballs to make us see the other planets as Ms. Fizzle (Abby C. Smith is divine) takes her class on a field trip in her magic school bus.

While they are on their way to the planetarium, they lose their way  and she blasts them into outer space for a much larger than life trip. Most of the class is returning from summer vacation. Wanda ( Rachel Armstrong) Garrett Lutz as Ralphie, Tommy Rivera-Vega as Carlos, and Will Koski as Arnold, but they are now joined by Arnold’s cousin, Janet played to perfection by Emily Ann Brooks. As it turns out, Janet and Arnold are cousins, but far from “kissing cousins”. Janet is a know it all and so is Arnold. They are both very smart, but who is smarter? As they go from planet to planet, we watch them learn to get along and the class becomes more of a “class” instead of five kids trying to one-up the others.

There are lots of cute musical numbers to make the hour move along quickly, and as always, when the show is over, the cast sits on stage and answers questions from the audience members. The 15 minutes after the show is powerful and truly shows how well the audience paid attention. I had the pleasure of siting between Jack ( my guest) and a little girl on her fathers lap to my right. Both , under 5, and both mesmerized by the action onstage. By the way, I have been seeing Will Koski ( Arnold) a lot of stages of  late. Keep an eye on him. He can do it all!

Carlos tends to be the trouble maker, and along the way, attempts to take souvenirs from every planet they visit, only to have an accident along the way. Each student has their own special needs, but as the story goes on, they all learn a lesson in teamwork.

Here are their thoughts:

Anna attended the Magic School Bus with her three year-old brother, Jack. Anna is a fan of the Magic School Bus as they watch some of the episodes in school, so we were excited for the opportunity to see the live action version.

I thought it was a good mix of science and entertainment. We loved the set and how it lit up as the students traveled from planet to planet. There were a lot of funny jokes that were entertaining for both adults and kids. I even learned a few facts about the solar system!

Jack enjoyed Ms Frizzle and thought it was so funny when the “baby Ms Frizzle” was floating in space and has talked about that quite a few times since! He was very engaged in many parts of the show. The more educational bits that would be above his head didn’t go on for too long, so the play definitely held his attention, although I think the perfect age group is probably more for elementary school students like Anna.

Anna said that a highlight was when they were pushing the meteors and they floated up above the stage. It was definitely a cool visual use of a small stage!  We had some good conversation on the way home about how teamwork helped them all win the prize and also helped each of them achieve their goals. Adventure is so much more fun with your friends!

 

“The Magic School Bus” will continue Thru – Mar 29th with performances as follows: