A Night at the Theater

It’s been a long time since Melanie and I had the chance to get out and see a show, so when we had the opportunity to see an off-Broadway play we jumped at the chance. It turned out to be one of the finest productions we’ve seen.

Of course, I’m a little biased. Along with 109 of his second-grade classmates, it was my son Connor’s foray onto the stage in front of a significant audience. And the house was packed, with family and friends creating a standing-room-only crowd in Greenbrier Elementary’s multipurpose room. It was a good introduction back to the school setting for all since most everything had been shut down since March 2020.

Connor had the role of Big Rooster in what turned out to be a rollicking affair, complete with six musical numbers and choreographed movements, in “Nuts,” a lesson about the lifecycle of a tree. He was at the mic in the first “scene” reassuring Chicken Little that she was just being bonked on the head by an acorn then had the next-to-last lines of the production. I was nervous for him going in, but he handled it like an old theater veteran, emoting confidently and loud. Harper didn’t appear anxious for her big brother and was downright bored about halfway through, but was soothed being able to color at her seat.

The songs had punny lyrics and included numbers entitled along the lines of “We’re All Nuts” and a rap entitled “We’re Big Bad Squirrels,” pulled off with flair by a bunch of suburban kids.