I started this blog with one daughter, kept it up with the other, to spend time together doing something we enjoyed.
However, things change and people evolve. My daughters are older, busier, and not as interested in writing.
From now on this blog will be mostly mom with occasional contributions from my daughters and maybe even my husband.
Nothing else will change. We'll still focus on sharing fun places to go, fun things to do, and more, and we would  still love to hear your views too

Monday, July 31, 2017

A More Theater Monday New York Musical Festival Monthly Mash-up for July, 2017 - Peace Love and Cupcakes, A Wall Apart, Play Like A Winner, Generation Me and I Am I Will I Do


For this month's mash-up we are presenting an assortment of shows from the New York Musical Festival.
 
Me - Peace Love and Cupcakes was a very entertaining show. It is based on a book written by Sheryl and Carrie Berk. The show is about a girl named Kylie who doesn't fit in at her school so she starts a cupcake club. The show is performed by a cast of all kids except for one adult. All of them are good in their roles.  The story is interesting.  Not all of the songs are very memorable although they are fun to listen to. One of the most fun songs in the show is Delicious. The show deals with the issue of bullying. Although this is an important issue, the shows resolution of the matter is not the most realistic. It doesn't seem like things would have happened quite that easily. It is good though that the show attempts to deal with the issue. The show is working is working with the No Bully organization. The money raised from the sale of all show merchandise is being donated to them.



For information about the show and or their partnership with the No Bully Organization visit their web-site at www.plcmusical.com.
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Me - A Wall Apart was a rock musical love story. It is about a couple, Esther and Kurt who live on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall. They fall in love but are separated by the wall. The story was intriguing. It was interesting to learn things about that period of history that I never knew. Some of the story was sad. The story of Esther and Kurt was interesting. However, the secondary story of Kurt's brother, Mickey and his love Suzanne was even more interesting and really touching. Suzanne and Mickey have some really nice and sweet duets in the show including Do You Mind If I Adore You and We're Having A Baby. Kurt and Esther have several duets in the show as well but their songs are not as touching as Suzanne and Mickey's. Over all the music is nice. In addition to all the ballads, there are some rousing anthems. The ending of the show seems a bit rushed. The show moves along slowly, and then suddenly they cover a bunch of years really quickly at the end. All in all, it was a good and entertaining show though.


For more about A Wall Apart visit awallapart.com

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Play Like A Winner is a dark comedy about a bunch of soccer Moms. However, these are soccer Moms to the extreme. These Mom's would literally kill for their daughters or at least one of them would. The story opens with the soccer coach lying dead on the ground and then goes back to the beginning of the story to show how things got to that point. The show is very relevant and funny. It has some really amusing songs too including Bromance and Snack Mom. There are also some pretty ballads including My Only One a song sung by the main character, Kathy, about her daughter, Jenna. The characters are recognizable although often not likable. In fact, only one of the characters manages to stay above the fray and remain admirable throughout. The show shines a light in a humorous way on the world we live in today where so many parents get overly involved in their children's lives. Although it is a show about a girl's soccer team. There is only one actual child in the show, and the show is not a good show for children to see.  It is not because of the murder aspect because the violence is actually downplayed, and the show is not at all scary. However, the plot does involve a lot of sexual innuendo including a soccer mom in an extremely skimpy outfit trying to seduce the coach. For adults, it should be must see viewing, both for it's entertainment value and as a warning.




For more about Play Like A Winner visit playlikeawinnermusical.com

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Generation Me is like a darker version of Dear Evan Hansen. It also deals with teenage suicide but it deals with a lot of other issues that face teenagers too including abuse both self-abuse and abuse by others, bullying and more. The show takes on way too many issues for any one show to do a good job of handling. As a result many of these issues are not really dealt with that well.  The show is not wall-to-wall heaviness and depression though. There are a some light and funny moments too.  A lot of the humor is provided by songs including the amusing Bra Song. There are also some sweet, tender and/or touching songs including When He Held My Hand and the finale Find My Way. Other songs actually manage to advance the plot including The Gossip Song and Never Have I Ever. This is not a good show for young children due to such plot points as those mentioned previously. However, it does capture the essence of what it is like to be a teen and how hard it is to navigate that successfully. Therefore it is a good show for teens especially if it sparks a discussion of some of the issues dealt with in the play.




For more about Generation Me visit www.generationmethemusical.com

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 I Am I Will I Do is a romance. In fact, it is a triple romance. There is Nancy and Richard, a married couple, Tony and Valerie an engaged couple, and Dave and Harris, a new couple.  All reach a crisis point in their relationships and need to see if they can survive it. The show is sweet at times and funny at times. The characters are amusing. The show has quite a lot songs and some of them are quite funny as well including Party City Now Dot Com and Why Can't You Be More Like Me. The title song is sweet. Not all of the songs are particular memorable, however. Due to subject matter, this is not a show for young kids. However, if you are not a kid and you enjoy a nice romantic comedy, you would probably like it.


For more about I Am I Will I Do visit iamiwillido.com

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits: All Peace Love and Cupcakes by Russ Rowland
                       All Play Like a Winner photos by Shira Friedman
                       All Generation Me photos by Shira Friedman