January 27th, 2010 larry
Whether your family reads the books or watches the cartoons, this show excels at bringing the characters to life. Curious George LIVE! is a new musical that is packed from start to finish with songs that tell the tale of George’s adventure from New York City to the streets of Rome. In this original story, George sets out to prove to the world that his friend, Chef Pisghetti, makes the best meatballs in the world. Performances of the show run between Thursday, January 28 - Sunday, January 31, 2010 at the Sears Center Arena in Hoffman Estates. Tickets are priced from $15-$38.
The production successfully creates a believable translation of the characters to the stage. The Man with the Yellow Hat, Professor Wiseman, Chef Pisghetti, and the Doorman are protrayed by actors who do spot-on impersonations of the characters voices and mannerisms. Their larger-then-life costumes translate perfectly. George’s animal friends Hundley and Gnocchi are cleverly depicted through simple puppetry. Of course George is the most difficult to portray. They did a great job with the costume, and tried their best to match his frenetic movement with some pretty cool tumbling. My 5 year-old was a little disappointed though. He wanted to see more climbing and “monkey stuff,” and I would agree. Overall they did an exceptionally believable job bringing these beloved characters to life.
Our favorite musical numbers were the opening productions of the first and second acts. “Special Delivery” followed by “Big Brown Box” makes for a bustling street scene. Both song are very catchy - they were what the kids were singing during intermission. The second act opens with a super fun song, “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” There is a cute gimmick with flashlights that makes for a cool visual effect. This song revolves around George stowing away on an airplane to Italy. It started the second half of the show off on a great note.
The low point for me is the pacing of the show. Pretty much the entire story is told through song. At times this is very successful, but at other times I would have preferred some of the story to have been told through dialog to move the production along. There was a great deal of antsy-ness going around around me near the end of the first act. The show is 1 hour 40 minutes long including a 15 minute intermission. For this age group I think a far shorter running time is more successful. The 5 year-olds I was with were able to sit through the entire show, but at times they were bored.
Even with some faults this is a fun show. From the festive lobby displays, to the intermission’s strolling vendors, to the great characterizations, this is a cute show for the pre-school aged Curious George fans in your life.
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January 20th, 2010 larry
We had a crew over for the football playoffs a couple of weeks ago and all the kids were comparing their holiday presents. It seems all the kids were comparing their new Leapster, Wii, and Nintendo games. They were discussing which game they liked, which games they were going to trade, and what they wanted to get next. However, just one week later, my kid was staring at his games. Mario Kart was still a blast. And everything else he either mastered, was bored of, and in some cases wasn’t old for.
We had the same problem with buying DVD movies. So we solved that problem by letting him take one of every 3 of our NetFlix movies. They come, he watches them many times, and we send him back, without the expense of buying the DVD. So I searched for similar services for games. SmartyRents and Gamefly came to my attention immediately.
SmartyRents has cornered the ”try before you buy” service for educational games. Started by credentialed teachers, they rent games for Leapster, Didj, Clickstart, Little Leaps, the V suite of game consoles (Smile, Motion, Flash, and Smile Baby). They have also gone through and documented the exact skill sets that each of the games teach so you know if it is age appropriate. Interestingly, they also have the back catalog for all of these consoles. So you can rent games that are actually out of circulation. Packages start at $9.99 a month for 1 game at a time and up to $24.99 for 4 games at a time.
Gamefly is concentrating on the exact opposite, more traditional part of the game market. Focusing on the Wii, PS3, PSP, XBOX, Nintendo Game Cube and Nintendo DS they sell everything from Super Mario Brothers to Grand Theft Auto. With over 7,000 games, you can rent one game at a time for $15.99 a month and 2 game at a time for $22.99 a month. The site sorts by popularity or release date and provides information on what type of equipment you need to play. So for Wii, it will let you know if you need the Steering Wheel for the game.
So if your kid seems to go off and on games like mine and you get frustrated at the $30-$50 games that are just sitting there next to your TV unused, SmartyRents and GameFly provide a great alternative using the NetFlix model.
Larry
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January 13th, 2010 larry
It is never clear when the start of sledding season begins. We got some decent snow over Christmas but then it turned unbearably cold right away. I think we went sledding 3 or 4 times around Christmas but not again since. Anyway, we thought we might as well talk about some of our favorite sledding attractions in the area. So bundle up and get ready for speed, snow ramps, and wipeouts.
Cricket Hill. We are partial to this “mountain” at Montrose and Lake Shore Drive. It is the right size for the under 7 year old and under crowd and the big kids build a ramp on most snowy days for you to try. Lots of cheering and encouragement for the kids that wipe out. This hill has some good speed, but because of the proximity to the lake can have a bit of a wind chill.
Soldier Field. I was tailgating for the last Minnnesota/Bears game and I saw all of these people catapulting down the side of the hill by McCormick Place. It is a very steep hill and not easy to find a parking space, but it has stairs which is always nice and rides extremely fast.
Warren Hill. Warren Hill (6601 Western avenue up north) has ice skating and a great sledding hill. It has stairs to get up the hill which is always preferrable. It can get pretty crowded but it has a lot of natural bumps (ramps) and is incredibly fast if it is a little icy on the hill.
Snowstar. Almost to Iowa (9500 126th Street in Andalusia) , but an incredible tubing ride. Snowstar is a ski mountain that you can tube down. Kids have to be at least 4 years old because they ride the tube alone but you can watch them from picnic tables down at the bottom. And don’t worry because they have a moving sidewalk to get kids up to the top. This is the real deal.
Elburn Forest Preserve. On Hughes Road in Elburn between Fayban Parkway and Route 47 there is sledding hill set up with bales of hay at the bottom to help prevent injury, though crashing in to the hay can sometimes be the best part. Keep your head up because there are lots of sledders coming down.
Campton Forest Preserve. Located at the corner of Rt 64 and Towne Hall Road in Wasco, IL, this is one of the steeper hills so it attracts a lot of speedsters and older kids. Definitely not for the squeamish.
Centennial Park. At 3100 Trail Way in Highland Park, this hill has park right at the bottom of the hill so no long journeys just to get to the sledding park (”Daddy, do I have to walk the whole way?”). It has stairs to get to the top and is typically not too crowded.
Other fairly serious sledding and tubing hills are the following:
1. Dan Ryan Woods, 87th and Western, Chicago.
2. Swallow Cliff Woods, Route 84 and Mannheim Road, Palos Park
3. Deer Grove, Quentin Road, north of Dundee Road in Palantine
4. Westchester Woods, Cermak Road, east of LaGrange Road, Westchester
5. Indian Hill Woods, 16th Street & Edgewood Avenue, Chicago Heights
6. Pioneer Woods, 107th Street, .5 mile west of LaGrange Road in Willow Springs
Larry and Donna
Dad Says: It is hard to pass up the speed of the natural hills like Montrose, but stairs really help if you have kids under 7 who are really struggling up the hill.
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January 6th, 2010 larry
The 101 Dalmatians Musical will be arriving in Chicago for a run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre from February 16-28, 2010. The show was in Boston in December and we covered it through Crazy Kids Boston. We loved it and gave it 5-stars. You’ll want to purchase tickets in advance as the show will probably become fairly popular. The show tickets are currently on sale and cost $18-$85.
Director Jerry Zaks has taken Dodie Smith’s classic tale to the stage. The 101 Dalmatians Musical presents the topsy-turvy, inside out world of the Dalmatians from the dogs’ point of view. Dalmatian characters are portrayed by adult actors while pups are portrayed by child actors. Humans are “differentiated” with exaggerated clothing and mini stilts that make them “larger than life.”
The tale follows the lives of Dalmatians Pongo and Missis Pongo who fall in love and are married. After a brief honeymoon “in the bushes” the Pongo’s are faced with the reality of impending parenthood. It is very well played. Their first musical number together “A Perfect Family” questions how hard parenthood could be. They’re both certain that their kids will be angels. There is humor at many levels. No family member will feel left out.
Rachel York made me think Cruella De Vil had stepped out of the Disney movie and onto the stage. She was wonderful and masterful. She brought forth an incredible lust for puppy fur. Cruella kidnaps the puppies and takes them to Castleville where they will soon become wardrobe. Pongo and Missis Pongo realize that their human “pets” will not be able to get their pups in time and realize it’s up to them to find the pups and bring them home. They send out the K-9 version of the Amber Alert and are soon on their journey.
I don’t want to spoil the adventure. My family enjoyed an exciting night of twists and turns. Something was there for everyone. Leaving the theatre I heard many people singing the catchy tune “Be a Little Bit Braver.” It’s still in my head at this point.
Probably best for children 4 and up (or a mature 3). Though I did see several toddlers be-bopping to the music.
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Ryan - Crazy Kids Boston
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