PLEASE NOTE: This post was written in 2016, and while it should still give you a good idea of the overall experience, it may also contain some outdated information. Please be sure to visit their website for the latest on the Family Festivities Series!
2016 Post:
Hi everyone!
Before we get to today’s much-anticipated post, I just want to jump in and reintroduce you all to our intrepid Fairfield County Out and About Mom: Ally Noel. You guys remember Ally, right? She introduced us to the amazing Education Center and FREE family programs at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT. Then she gave us the inside scoop on where to do a bit of plein air painting with our preschoolers–yes! For real! (And for FREE!)
Now today she’s moving from the visual arts into the performing arts as she gives us a firsthand look at taking her 4-year-old to a family-friendly theater series at the beloved Westport Country Playhouse. But how do we know it’s truly family-friendly, you may ask? Well, it’s got art projects, lemonade and dancing chickens. Enough said 🙂
We hope you enjoy the post!
——————————————————————————————————————–
Ally Noel is a mom, a wife and an educator living in Norwalk, CT.
Her 4 year old daughter, Miss C, enjoyed all the comforts of home for about 10 days before her mother bundled her up and headed out on their first Out & About adventure.
Her blog, LuCk, includes everything from play-based learning activities to unique party and playdate inspiration. You can also catch her monthly contributions on Fairfield County Moms Blog. Show her some love on Facebook and Instagram and if you like what you see drop her a note on LuCk.
Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.
Thanks to the Westport Country Playhouse for providing us with complimentary admission to the Family Festivities Series. All opinions are 100% my own.
I heard about the Westport Country Playhouse well before I ever became a resident of the Nutmeg State. The Playhouse is a Connecticut institution; its history is rich in the tradition of American Theater. Its stage has been graced by the likes of Liza Minelli to hometown hero Paul Newman. The mission of the Westport Country Playhouse is to “enrich, enlighten, and engage the community through the power of professionally produced theater worth talking about and the welcoming experience of the Playhouse campus.”
As a child, I have many fond memories of attending theatrical productions with my family. Living close to New York City, I was fortunate enough to attend many Broadway productions. The love of theater is something I have always looked forward to enjoying with my family. Little Miss C is a 4 year old with a flair for the dramatic, and the Playhouse provides the perfect setting for a child’s introduction to live performance. Having the opportunity to take her to a children’s musical at the Westport Country Playhouse is a dream come true. Bonus points: Grandma was able to join!
From November through April, the Westport Country Playhouse offers family oriented productions in their Family Festivities Series. According to the Playhouse, the goal of the series is to “introduce the next generation to theater and provides the perfect entertainment for children, parents and grandparents to share together.” (You can read more about how the Series also supports childhood development here.) The series appeals to children aged 2 -8 with a variety of productions that are aimed to please a young audience. Performances are run several times a day on Sundays and are generally about an hour long.
The Playhouse is located in the heart of Westport. This particular show is scheduled for 4:00pm, and we arrive at 3:00 (since we know there is also a pre-show activity–more on that later) and make use of the free onsite parking feet from the front doors- on cold days this is definitely appreciated!
The complex is made up of several clearly marked buildings. Just inside the main door at the top of the stairs, we spot a sign for the box office and head right in and pick up our tickets at will-call.
There is an optional Pre-Show activity that starts an hour before the Family Festivities Series performances, so we ask the theater attendant where this is located and she guides us along (we were alerted ahead of time that if we wanted to join the pre-show activity we needed to arrive no later than 3:15 to be able to be admitted; due to the structure of the activity they really encourage participants to arrive on time). There are signs that clearly mark the way, so we follow the path and enter the Lucile Lortel White Barn Center.
There is a warm up activity set up when we walk into the studio. When we enter, large sheets of coloring paper and baskets of crayons are placed on the floor. Miss C joins in and starts drawing a picture of a chicken. The rest of the movement based activities were lead by a theater instructor. Truthfully, they were intended for kids a bit older than 4, but C had a good time using her imagination. We could definitely use a little shaking and dancing before the show, so this activity was perfect.
Afterwards, we made our way back to the theater building and grabbed ourselves a snack.
Since food is not allowed in the theater, we grabbed a Newman’s Own Lemonade (when in Rome . . .), a chocolate chip cookie and parked ourselves on a bench outside the theater doors.
In warmer weather, there is some outdoor seating available as well.
After we finished up our snack, we made an obligatory pre-show pit stop. Thankfully, there are two large restrooms located on both the orchestra and balcony level.
Once we are all cleaned up, we head into the theater. The facility is 100% accessible. There are elevators or ramps, which make it very convenient if you need to bring a stroller (though please note that strollers are not actually allowed into the theater).
The theater itself is charming. Originally a converted country barn with wooden pews, the main theater underwent a massive renovation in 2005. The updated facility still looks like a country barn and we can all benefit from the new seating. Miss C insisted that we grab a booster from a stack right inside the theater door, but it wasn’t that necessary- every seat in the theater offers a nice view of the stage.
After we are guided to our seats, Miss C and I took a moment to look at the scenery that was set up on stage and got ready for the show to begin!
On this Sunday, We had the pleasure of viewing The Chicken Dance – which is based on Tammi Sauer’s book by the same title. The musical is centered around a timeless tale of Marge and Lola, two barnyard chickens with the goal of winning the barnyard talent contest first prize of two tickets to see the great Elvis Poultry in concert!
Photo courtesy ArtsPower
The production was simple- it consisted of four actors. Miss C had a fun time trying to figure out costumes. She had a fun time bopping along in her seat to the music, and marveling at the scene changes. Did she wiggle and talk? Yes. Yes she did. But, so did a lot of other kids in the audience. In fact, at about 23 minutes into the production you can basically feel the audience getting a bit wiggly. We are, after all, at a children’s production aimed at 5 year olds. And, that’s OK. What we love most about the Family Festivities Series is how accessible it is to young families. At $20.00/ticket, the Series provides a relatively affordable introduction to theater for young kids. Unlike some other children’s shows, we were not taunted by $30 buckets of souvenir popcorn and spinning light-up toys when we walked in. My senses were not overwhelmed by flashing strobe lights and loud noises, which is something that my 4 year old daughter is very appreciative of.
The Family Festivities Series provides a series of different performances. Each performance is different but they are all designed to entertain the whole family. For the 2016 season, there are still three performances remaining:
Charlotte’s Web
Sunday, Feb 28, 2016
11am | 1pm* | 4pm
All tickets: $20.00
Recommended for ages 5 and up.
E.B. White’s loving story about the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a little gray spider named Charlotte is now live onstage in this wonderful musical.
Wilbur has a problem: how to avoid winding up as pork chops! Charlotte, a fine writer and true friend, hits on a plan to fool Farmer Zuckerman. She weaves in her web a solution which not only makes Wilbur a prize pig, but ensures his place on the farm forever. That’s some pig!
Produced by TheatreWorks USA
(Description from the Westport Country Playhouse’s website)
*1pm show is currently sold out.
——————————————————————————–
Moon Mouse: A Space Odyssey
Sunday, March 20, 2016
1pm | 4pm
All tickets: $20.00
Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Join Marvin, the mouse for a cosmic adventure. Constantly bullied and picked on by the “cool” rats, he is labeled as a looser and a geek. To get away from the continuous badgering, Marvin retreats into his science books and a world of fantasy. He longs to have adventures and to be the hero.
Will Marvin make his dreams come true and experience the glory and acceptance he craves?
Produced by Lightwire Theater
(Description from the Westport Country Playhouse’s website)
———————————————————————————–
Photo courtesy of ArtsPower
Are You My Mother?
Sunday, April 10, 2016
1pm | 4pm
All tickets: $20.00
Recommended for ages pre-K and up.
At long last, Baby Bird emerges from her shell and expects to be greeted by her mother’s song. But her mother is not there. Where is she? Why isn’t she home? With the help of Dog, Cat and Hen, Baby Bird sets out in search of Mother Bird. Find out what happens in this musical based on P. D. Eastman’s whimsical and well-loved picture book.
Produced by ArtsPower.
(Description from the Westport Country Playhouse’s website)
Getting to spend the afternoon at the theater with my daughter and my mother is a wonderful family experience. . As a teacher, I know there are so many wonderful skills that exposure to the arts encourages. The Playhouse provides a theater going experience that will leave an impact on my daughter.
Westport Country Playhouse
25 Powers Court, Westport, Connecticut
To reach the box office, please call 203.227.4177
Find the Westport Country Playhouse on Facebook!
Hours:
Box Office Hours
During non-performance weeks
Tuesday – Friday: Noon – 6p
During performance weeks
Tuesday: Noon – 7p
Wednesday – Friday: Noon – 8p
Saturday: 11a – 8p
Sunday: 11a – 3p
Pricing:
Tickets for the Family Festivities Series are $20 each for all ages.
You can buy tickets online or at the box office either ahead of time or the day of the show if they are still available (we don’t recommend that last option, however, as many shows do sell out). If you order tickets online, you can pick them up at will call on the day of the show.
Please consider helping to improve childhood literacy by donating a gently used or new children’s book to Read to Grow, Inc. Collection bins will be located in the Playhouse lobby before each 2015/2016 Family Festivities performance. These books will be given to families and to community resources in the greater Fairfield County area.
Details:
-
- Stroller Friendly: YES, although strollers are not allowed in the theater.
-
- Coffee Mug Friendly: NO – there are no food or beverages allowed in the theater
-
- Restroom: YES
-
- Baby Changing Station: No
-
- Parking: YES. Free parking available onsite.
-
- Food for Sale: YES
-
- Outside Food Allowed: NO
-
- Cash Required: NO
-
- Dress Code: NO
-
- Age Recommendations: There are age recommendations for each of the Family Festivities Series performances and they are noted on the website. The overall age range for the series is 2-8.
-
- Evening/Weekend Hours: YES. The Family Festivities Series performances are on Sundays.
-
- Discounts: None that we know of.
- Birthday Party Venue: NO
———————————————————————————————————————–
Interested in advertising opportunities with Out and About Mom? Get more info here.
Want to keep up with things to do with kids in Connecticut?
Check back every week as we dish up more Momsense for getting out and about with your little ones. Don’t have time to check back in? Let us send you an automatic notification of new posts straight to your email inbox by signing up here. Also, you can like us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with the latest posts and get some extra tidbits we share only through those sites.
