Last weekend Anthony and I got to take the kids to see The Great Big Boo, a Halloween musical at the Forum. I had always considered taking the boys, but somehow with all the birthday celebration preparations and costume buying or making and Halloween decorating it just hadn’t happened. This year we were given tickets to go and review the show and I am glad we did. I am not sure how willing Aidan would be to go in another year or so. Quinlan was bang on the right age to go and have fun and feel a little nervous.
Aidan, being the older of my two still really enjoyed the spectacle that is the great big boo. He also had the added bonus of seeing it through his theatre class eyes. While the big characters with the puppet like costumes are obviously played by grown ups, a lot of the dancers and the two main characters are played by kids. I think that he saw himself in the kids and it gave him another thing to aspire to. He like the story line and he wasn’t nervous though he did feel sympathy for the characters and enjoyed the storyline. Aidan still lives in a land of imagination and magic and I am glad he got a chance to see the show.
Quinlan was a little nervous at first and even throughout the show. It is hard for him to see the big puppet like characters as humans in costume and he really feels the story. In fact the beginning where the werewolf comes out and tries to eat everyone’s popcorn made him extremely nervous throughout the show. Quinlan was much more afraid of the popcorn eating werewolf than the wicked witch Wendella how hated Halloween. There was a lot of the show that he spent on Anthony’s lap with his hands over his ears and his eyes wide staring at the stage. Despite his nervousness regarding the werewolf he declared The Great Big Boo! the best thing he had ever seen.
Anthony and I enjoyed the show as well. It was well done and fun for the kids. We sat in the bleachers on the side and I think that was a very good idea. It was easy to see all the action and not worrying about keeping the kids on our laps so they could see made it much more enjoyable for us. If you an be on the aisle ends or in the front it would be worth the centre seats, but like a concert where you are on the floor with a tall person in front of you anywhere in the middle is a little frustrating. I think we will go next year as long as the boys still want to go, we all had a good time.
If you are looking for something in the same vein for Christmas this year, the people who put on The Great Big Boo also put on a Christmas show, The Magic of Santa. It runs Friday December 21 at 7 pm, and Saturday December 22 at 1 pm, 4 pm and 7 pm and tells the story of Emily who in trying to find her very own Christmas wish discovers the wonder of Santa’s magic. Tickets are 22.50 for reserved seating at the Pacific Coliseum.