More Theater Monday - Genuises and Keith Michael's The Alice-in-Wonderland Follies

In today's More Theater Monday we have two great shows for young audiences.

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

What: Genuises

Where: TADA! Youth Theater
             15 W. 28th St.
             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for ages 8 and up

When: Through May 20, 2018

Me - Genuises was an enjoyable show. It was about these kids who were really smart. The acting was good. The story was interesting. The songs were fun. I really liked them. TADA! Youth Theater shows generally have good songs that get stuck in your head. The singing and dancing were good too. The set was very elaborate. They always have great sets at TADA!. Most of the costumes were the same because they were supposed to be school uniforms. This is a good show for everyone and anyone should enjoy it.

Mom - Genuises is the story of two average kids who worm their way into a school for genuises. Genuis in the sense that is it used in the show does not just mean a child who is extraordinarly smart but can be a child who excels in any area for instance a sport, painting or whatever. The show is really a celebration of the uniqueness of every child. As is usual with TADA Youth Theater productions, the show imparts an important lesson in a fun way. The story is engaging and the show is full of pleasant songs. The talented young actors in the TADA Youth Theater's resident acting troupe display a joy in performing that is infectious and that makes attending one of their show's a delight for audiences of all ages.

For more information about TADA Youth Theater, Genuises, or to purchase a ticket for the show, visit http://www.tadatheater.com/shows/current-season
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We were given free tickets to Keith Michael's The  Alice-in-Wonderland Follies for review purposes. Any and all opinion expressed here are our own.

What: Keith Michael's The Alice-in-Wonderland Follies

Where: Florence Gould Hall
            55 E. 59th St.
            New York, NY

Who: All ages

When: This event took place on April 28, 2018 & April 29, 2018
            For future New York Theatre Ballet productions visit their web-site http://nytb.org/

Me - Keith Michael's The Alice-in-Wonderland Follies was  a ballet based on Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. It was good. The ballet was made up of different scenes from the stories. The show was very colorful. Both the costumes and the sets had a lot of color in them. The dancing was really good. The dancers were really talented. The music was pretty. The whole ballet was very lively. I didn't like that the cheshire cat was brown. I like when the cheshire cat is pink and purple like in the movie. The cat had a really long tale too, but that didn't bother me. There were some kids in the show too. One little girl who played a baby was really cute. The other kids played teacups and hedgehogs. The scene with the baby was one of my favorites. The ballet was really great for little kids, and all the little kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it.

Mom - New York Ballet Theater's presentation of Keith Michael's The Alice-in-Wonderland Follies was a joyful blend of lively music, energetic dancing and colorful costumes and sets. Rather than being a linear retelling of the Alice in Wonderland tales, the show was a series off vignettes from the stories. All of the familiar characters were there as well as other characters perhaps not as well known. There was a lot of variety in the dances in each section of the ballet, and there was a lot of variety in the music as well. The music ranged from very familiar songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Pomp and Circumstance to much less familiar songs. The  music also covered a wide variety of genres including nursery rhymes, classical music and ragtime. There was even a section of the ballet where the music was the dancers voices as they recited the poem, Jabberwocky.  The show at about an hour long was the perfect length for the young audiences for whom it was intended. The children in the audience of the show which we attended seemed mesmerized by the show, and they were fairly quiet and attentive. However, it definitely was not a show that can only be appreciated by young children, and the adults and older children in the audience really seemed to enjoy themselves as well.

For more information about the New York Ballet Theater, their dance school, or their upcoming productions visit http://nytb.org/ Their next ballet specifically for very young children will be Keith Michael's The Nutcracker which will be performed in mid December.


And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.

Photo credits: Genusies production photo by Dana Jerabek
                       All Keith Michael's Alice in Wonderland Follies photos by Rachel Neville