The Little Engine That Could

There is something special about live stage production. I haven't had the privilege of going to too many in my lifetime, but I remember going to a few at the Waterloo Community Playhouse back in my Girl Scout days, and our choir went to see Rent in Chicago. There is just something magical about the stage and live acting, and it's an interest, an excitement that I hope to pass on to my children.

A few weeks ago, I was notified, kind of by mishap, about a special discount that homeschoolers receive to productions at The Rose theater in Omaha. I was able to make the deadline, and got tickets to the production of The Little Engine That Could. There is a certain day for almost every play that The Rose invites homeschooling groups and several elementary schools to take part in a discounted viewing of the show. If the play normally runs longer than 1 hour, they reduce the time to 1 hour for viewing by these younger children. For HEN (Homeschool Educators' Network), this includes a free ticket for 1 teacher/family (me), free tickets for children ages 2 and under that will be sitting in someone's lap (Isaiah), and discounted tickets for all other children (Sydney). Normal ticket prices for a production are $16.00; our discount price, including tax, was $4.82.

Yes, it was at 1:00 p.m. on a Thursday - naptime is never a good time for a field trip. But it had a lot going for it - it was about trains, and if there was anything that could keep Isaiah's attention, that was it. We borrowed the book from the library, and the kids loved it, asking to read it over and over again. I even tried to help them anticipate going to a "play" - but they quickly got it confused with going somewhere to play. So, I laid off, and just tried to make sure they got enough sleep the night before.

We did have a great time. The Little Engine That Could lasted 1 hour (don't ask how). It was a little slow at times, but I thought they did an excellent job with audience participation and having characters that the kids could relate to. There were 5 actors participating as toys on the train, and then 1 who was the train conductor for all the 5 trains in the play. Sydney and Isaiah immediately identified one of the dolls as Cinderella (she had blonde hair and a blue dress) and paid special close attention to her. There was also a question/answer session at the end, and the actors tried to explain a little about learning their lines and how the trains were built on wheels so they would be easy to push on and off. Sydney was also impressed with the design of the theater - "It looks like a castle!" Isaiah wasn't able to make it all the way through; he ended up falling asleep in my lap and got a good 30 minute nap. However, I felt that the experience was worth it, and am so excited about trying another play this school year.