Introducing children to the beauty of theater can be a little difficult. Shows steered towards children tend to be boring for the parents and shows that are more for the adults are hardly able to entertain the little ones. To find a happy medium is usually difficult. The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley is one of those happy mediums.
My family and I were able to see the show on Saturday (10/25), and we enjoyed every moment of it. The show is based on the popular kid’s book series, Flat Stanley, written by Jeff Brown. It’s about a boy who becomes flat and makes the best of an odd situation. The musical does differ from the book series in how Stanley becomes flat and how he’s cured, but if you aren’t a stickler for continuity (or have never read the books like me) then it really isn’t a big deal.
The show starts with meeting the adorable Lambchop family. Instead of Stanley and his little brother, Arthur, going to bed, they stay up singing about doing great things when a shooting star flies over and Stanley makes a wish to be able to see the world while “doing things no one else has ever seen before.” The next morning, Stanley wakes up to a much flatter self. After talking to the mailman, Mrs. Cortero, Stanley decides to mail himself to visit his friend in California. Once there, he meets a Hollywood producer who sends him to France and Hawaii. After Stanley has his fill of adventures, he decides home in the best place to be.
