Theater Thursday - Honk, Bar Mitzvah Boy, and No-No Boy

We were given free tickets to Honk for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Honk

Where: Kelsey Theatre
             1200 Old Trenton Rd.
             West Windsor, NJ

Who: All ages

When: Through February 18, 2018

Me - Honk was a show about the ugly duckling but with songs. A lot of stuff was added to the story. In fact, they added too much, and it seemed a little too stretched out. The songs were okay. All the characters were okay too but I didn't have a favorite. The acting, singing and dancing were all good. Some of the actors were better than others. The sets and costumes were fascinating. All in all, though the show would have worked better if it were shorter. They did a good job in performing the show. It just wasn't that great of a show. Young children who only want to watch shows with characters they recognize or based on familiar stories would enjoy this show.

For more information about Honk or to purchase tickets, visit www.kelseyatmccc.org/HONK

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We were given tickets to Bar Mitzvah Boy for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: Bar Mitzvah Boy

Where:York Theatre Company

            619 Lexington Ave.

            New York, NY

Who: Recommended for 13 and up

When: Now through February 18, 2018

Me - Bar Mitzvah Boy was a show about boy and his family. The boy was about to be Bar Mitzvahed. The show was very good. It was very entertaining. It was funny. I liked all the characters. The songs were good but none of them really stood out. I would want to listen to them again though. If there was an album of the show I would probably want to get it. The acting was good. The singing was good too. There really wasn't much dancing, if any.  They did a really good job with the show considering they didn't really have a lot of sets and costumes. My favorite thing about the show was the songs. The show reminds me a little bit of Falsettos but this show is not sad it's just funny. I liked this show more. People who like funny shows with good music would enjoy this show.

Mom - Bar Mitzvah Boy is a hidden gem of a musical. It is a lost Jule Styne masterpiece. The show about a family preparing for the son's imminent Bar Mitzvah is hilarious and extremely relatable. Even if you are not Jewish, and you don't know anything about Bar Mitzvah's, if you have a family you can still relate to this show. The music is a delight and includes songs that in a more well known show probably would have becomes standards including a couple of ballads sung by the parents of the Bar Mitzvah Boy "We've Done Alright" and "The Sun Shines Out of Your Eyes." It is hard to believe that this show never actually played on Broadway where it would seem like there would be a ready made audience for it. Although the show is recommended for teens and up, there is nothing really objectionable about  it for children a little bit younger especially ones that have lived through some kind of ritual passage of their own or that of sibling. It is not that you have to have gone through some like that to enjoy this show. It's just that it makes it that much funnier when you can actually relate to the show. However, all in all either way it's still a very engaging and funny show.

For more information about Bar Mitzvah Boy or to purchase tickets, visit
web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/984187.
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We were given free No-No Boy ticket for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: No-No Boy

Where: Studio Theatre @ Theatre Row 
             410 W. 42nd St.
             New York, NY

Who:: Recommended for Teens and Up

When: Through February 18, 2018

Mom - No-No Boy is about a young man of Japanese descent who went to jail rather than join the army when commanded to enlist to show his loyalty to the United States during World War II. It deals with the aftermath of this decision as he returns home after the war and the repercussions of that decision as well as the how the aftermath of what happened during the war effects others around him. It is  a very timely play not only because  the Japanese Day of Remembrance is coming up on February 19, but also because the way certain people want to lump all immigrants into one category and treat them a certain way out of fear now is the same way the Japanese were dealt with during the period of the Second World War. This well acted show really makes you think about where this country is headed. It is definitely not a good show for young children due to the subject matter. However, it should be required viewing among older children because they are the future and as this show reminds us we need to keep our country moving forward and progressing and not go backward and repeating the mistakes of the past.

For more information about No-No Boy or to order tickets, visit panasianrep.org/no_no_boy_2018.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Funtivity Friday.

Photo credits: All Bar Mitzvah Boy production photos by Ben Strothmann
                       All No-No Boy production photos by John Quincy Lee