ROBIN'S SHOW REVIEW: THE HISTORY MYSTERY

TADA! YOUTH THEATER latest production is THE HISTORY MYSTERY. My son and I saw the show, and it was the first time we attended a TADA production.  It will not be the last.

THE HISTORY MYSTERY is a musical time travel adventure--Meet Martin Luther King Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt, the Wright Brothers and other characters when they were children.  Imagine how events from their childhoods could have shaped them into the adults they became – the adults who helped to form the world, as we know it today.

The takeaway from the show is a strong, positive life lesson.  If you dream it as a child, and put effort behind it, it can manifest.  One person can make a huge difference for many in this world.  I loved being able to share this message with my son, and hope that it's one he will sustain.

The production was well done, and is an inspiring, informative, affordable family show.  I applaud the efforts of TADA and hope to take in future shows they present. 

This production stars members of TADA!’s Resident Youth Ensemble; talented kids between the ages of 8 and 18 from the NYC area who participate in this FREE year-round youth development program.  They are:

Alex Costello (Paramus, NJ, 11 years old)

Amanda Prescod (Brooklyn, NY, 13 years old)

Annalee Tai (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Austin Tipograph (New York, NY, 15 years old)

Brian Ward (Brooklyn, NY, 14 years old)

Brooklyn Fuentas (Brooklyn, NY, 9 years old)

Ceanna Bryant (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Chloe Pae (New York, NY, 10 years old)

Clara Kim (Flushing, NY, 11 years old)

Danielle Palmer (Bronx, NY, 12 years old)

Derek Johnson (Brooklyn, NY, 10 years old)

Diana Kagan (Great Neck, NY, 10 years old)

Donna Falzon (Astoria, NY, 17 years old)

Elsa Chung (Bronx, NY, 10 years old)

Jaden Dudley (New York, NY, 10 years old)

Jennifer Wais (New York, NY, 17 years old)

Kaitlyn Pohly (New York, NY, 8 years old)

Maddie Rubin (New York, NY, 12 years old)

Maddy Abrahams (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Martin Lewis (Staten Island, NY, 16 years old)

Milo Bernfield-Millman (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Molly Grub (New York, NY, 11 years old)

Nataki Purvis (Brooklyn, NY, 15 years old)

Nathan Love (Brooklyn, NY, 9 years old)

Nicole Zivkovic (Forest Hills, NY, 13 years old)

Romello Rodriguez (Bronx, NY, 14 years old)

Samantha Pohly (New York, NY, 11 years old)

Santiago Parra (New York, NY, 10 years old)

Shanya Thomas (New York, NY, 10 years old)

Sophie Smith-Brady (New York, NY, 12 years old)

Subiya Mboya (Hackensack, NJ, 11 years old)

Tristan Hickey (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Tyrek Haynes (New York, NY, 13 years old)

Book by JANINE NINA TREVENS

Music by ERIC ROCKWELL

Lyrics by MARGARET ROSE 
Directed by JANINE NINA TREVENS

The production features choreography by Associate Artistic Director Joanna Greer, musical direction by Jim Colleran, scenic and lighting design by Steve O’Shea, costume design by Virginia Monte and projections designed by Norman Franklin.

THE HISTORY MYSTERY plays the following regular schedule:

Saturdays at 2pm and 4pm

Sundays at 2pm and 4pm

Additional Performance:

Friday, February 17 at 7 pm

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for children; Limited cheap tickets (also available for every performance) are $20 for adults and $8 for children and are available first come, first serve.  Tickets are available online at www.tadatheater.com/currentseason.asp. Tickets may also be purchased in-person a half hour prior to performance.  Non-Profit Group rates start at $6 per child for groups of 20+; birthday party packages are also available.  The limited engagement is at TADA! Youth Theater (15 West 28th St. 2nd Fl. New York, NY 10001).  Performances began Friday, January 20 and continue through Sunday, February 19.

Running Time:  approximately 60 minutes

Website: www.tadatheater.com

ABOUT TADA!:

Since 1984, TADA! Youth Theater has been providing young people of all different backgrounds the opportunity to explore and perform musical theater together in an educational, supportive and professional environment. In 2009 with a Special Drama Desk Award for "providing an invaluable contribution to the future of the theater.” TADA! is the only youth theater to have won this prestigious award.

TADA! has also received many other honors and awards including the American Alliance for Theater Education’s Anne Flagg Multicultural Award, Family Circle Magazine’s 1st Annual Halo Award, and more than a dozen National Youth Theatre Awards. Additionally, in 2008 TADA! was honored with a Coming Up Taller Award, our nation’s highest honor for youth development from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Every year, TADA! produces: original musical theater productions performed by kids for family audiences; a discounted ticket program; free pre-professional training and youth development opportunities through the Resident Youth Ensemble composed of over 80 NYC kids ages 8-18; renowned Arts Education in-school residencies and after-school programs; and theater classes and camps for kids of all ages taught by professional teaching artists and for which need-based financial aid is available.

ROBIN'S SHOW RECOMMENDATION: Story Pirates

“The Story Pirates teach kids a love of creative writing. It helps kids to see that their words and ideas are really important. I believe that what the Story Pirates are doing is helping America.   It's crazy entertaining." – Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

While many children’s theater troupes tell stories to children, the Story Pirates believe every child has a story to tell. This arts and education, based in both New York and Los Angeles, organization exists entirely because of kids. The group of first-rate comedians and teaching artists uses stories written by elementary students as source material for over the-top musical comedy sketches. Adding songs, props, music videos and puppets, they bring to life on stage what children scribble down on paper.

The Story Pirates won’t make you walk the plank; however, they will challenge your child's imagination and prove that his or her words are powerful tools worth celebrating. At a typical show, story topics run the gamut, from kung-fu ninja babies fighting crime to the eternal love between the devil and a guy she meets at Starbucks. It’s a world where cats sometimes fly and Tickle Monsters dominate the world. At every show, Story Pirates perform brand new stories by kids in the audience.

Founded in 2003, Story Pirates has grown to reach hundreds of thousands of children each year all around the country. Through in-school creative writing workshops and assemblies that focus on the power of communication and self-expression, Story Pirates’ goal is to provide children with the tools to become confident, literate students, and to encourage them to develop into more thoughtful and passionate writers, in and out of school.

Story Pirates CEO Benjamin Salka describes the Story Pirates show as "genuinely funny. It's not condescending. It's smart, it's silly – It’s our world, unfiltered, as only children could imagine.”

I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd annual After School Special this weekend, a fundraiser in NYC at Peter Norton Symphony Space, for Story Pirates, and it was my family's introduction to the performers.  This particular show also featured such celebrities as Jon Stewart, Ana Gasteyer (SNL) , Josh Gad (Book of Moron), rocker Lou Reed, and more.  It was directed by Lee Overtree, with music composed and directed by the Eli Bolin.  

The theatre was packed, with kids and adults, and I loved knowing that the money raised was going to support such a cool artistic cause.  The Story Pirates, including their band, are a hugely witty and talented troupe, and while it's hard to single out any particular skit, the one that stands out in my mind was short but hysterial.  It featured Josh Gad (who has a lovely voice) singing the catchy tune about Ed who wets his bed.  I still chuckle when I think of it.  And, I always enjoy Jon Stewart and Ana Gasteyer, though I would have loved more of both of them.  It was sweet to see them there with their respective children in the audience.

If you have yet to experience Story Pirates, and your child has a love of writing and/or story telling, take note of their performance schedule below.

          (Jon Stewart performing with puppets from Story Pirates)

Show Schedule
Weekly each Saturday at 2pm at The Drama Book Shop in NYC.  Tickets are $15 online at http://www.storypirates.org/

Education Programs
Story Pirates works with over 150 schools each year from coast to coast. For more information, email: info@storypirates.org.or phone (347) 878-6798.