Winnie the Pooh

It's not so much the stories that I enjoy, and really the critters are quite annoying in their various caricatures, but there is something endearing about this enduring "classic" that has kept it in our lives. Or maybe it was the collection of stuffed Eeyores that survived my college days only to be heavily loved by a beautiful little boy. Yesterday I took him to a Wild Swan stage play of these perennial stories and characters. He was delighted. Rapt throughout the whole show (didn't even notice the little girl behind us, bawling and desperate to get away from the scary things on the stage, poor thing). At the end we met the characters outside. Calvin told Eeyore that he really liked the show, then asked him (her, really) what the tree (a large and enjoyable set piece) had been made of. To her answer of "wood" he then politely replied "yes, but what kind?" She had the grace to reply that he had stumped her, but she could tell him that it was supposed to be an Oak tree.

Frog and Toad at the theater

When I was little I loved the theater. Not just the shows themselves, but the dressing up for the evening out, the drive to the big city, the buzz of anticipation that floated over the audience until the dimming lights shushed it into silence. We saw several wonderful shows when I was growing up, and today just the idea of going to a show gives me an invigorating sense of excitement.

Two months ago I ordered tickets to take Calvin to Wild Swan Theater's production of Frog and Toad, and ever since I've been filled with that joyous eagerness for the day to finally be here. No, it wasn't one of the Detroit venues, yes it was a show geared toward the attention spans of little ones, but this was going to be Calvin's first play, his first chance to experience that thrill, and my first chance to enjoy it with him.

The show itself was this past Friday, and I didn't tell him about it until a couple of weeks ago. We, as a family, are big fans of Frog and Toad, and ever since I told him about the upcoming show we've been reading and rereading the books and acting out the stories in preparation for the day. We also talked about stage plays and what to expect, like dimmed lights, people in costumes, and being quiet to listen to the actors. He was very excited, most likely simply because I was, but hey, that counts for something doesn't it?

The event itself didn't disappoint. Wild Swan does a wonderful job of making theater, as they say, "accessible" to families, while maintaining a high level of quality in performance and stage presence. Even more importantly, Calvin loved it. He recognized the stories and I could see the delight on his face. Our talks beforehand had prepared him for the dimmed lights, although not for the funny folding seat, which kept swallowing him up because he wasn't heavy enough to keep it open (after the second time he climbed into my lap and refused to sit in that alien chair again, which made sense to me).

Perhaps the best evidence of his feelings about the show came in the car on the way home, when he said emphatically that as soon as he got home he was going to set up a stage and act out a Frog and Toad play of his own. He was very excited about this, and that is exactly what he did both then, and again this morning, with an encore performance for his dad while I looked online for Wild Swan's next performance.