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The joys of taking small kids to the theater for the very first time

On Saturday, the Pretoria Youth Theater put on a production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Irene Village Theater.  We decided that Liam was probably old enough to enjoy this, so off we went not quite sure what to expect. 

Well, safe to say that Liam is addicted...he actually burst into tears at interval and told us he is not finished yet and he wants them to come back. 

Wow, this is really the ideal setting to introduce kids to the magical world of the stage.  It is a well thought through concept and it works.  You can buy your tickets online through Computicket, it does not cost an arm and a leg and it is set up for kids.  The area immediately in front of the stage is filled with an array of pillows where the little people sit.  Popcorn and snacks are sold.  Liam immediately took his picnic and proceeded to go and sit in the very first row, he wanted to see everything first.  His eyes never left the stage, except for about two seconds when he needed to look down at the popcorn box.  He was mesmerized.

The other truly amazing thing is that the actors (although still only children themselves) are seasoned in dealing with kids, you can imagine that a theater full of kids will eventually end up in almost all of them shouting at Jack that the giant is behind him, or shouting at the giant that he is a giant (duh).  The actors take this all in their stride and carry on regardless, even building some audience antics into the show. 

Liam still talks about the beautiful princess and the huge giant.  There is one scene where the giant runs past the kids with some strobe lights flashing, I of course thought my boy would be petrified but that is one of the highlights in Liam's mind.  

So to the Pretoria Youth Theater gets my vote, keep up the good work thespian fellows and we will see you shortly in Little Mermaid. 

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