Published: February 09, 2006 04:13 pm      

Aladdin, Jr. gets four thumbs up!

MARSHALL LAW

Turns out that Jen is as much of a theater buff as I am. She’s been to countless shows on Broadway, and I’ve seen a handful or two of the traveling shows as they come through Atlanta. Our first theater-going experience together was last year when we had great seats at the Rufus Adams Auditorium for Annie, Jr.

I’m not sure that either of us had been to an elementary school musical since the days when we actually participated in them a few decades ago. So I think it’s fair to say that when we sat down right in front of the stage, we both figured there would be a fair amount of giggles when children forgot their lines, stared blankly at the audience, and made off the cuff remarks like “hi, mommy!” and “there’s grandpa!”

We got none of that, though. Well, we did get plenty of giggles, as there was plenty of intentional comedy on stage. But none of the young actors and actresses forgot their lines, none panicked, and no one waved to their family in the sixth row.

In short, it was a professional performance. Better than that, it was a professional performance put on by a bunch of elementary school students, most of which had no previous stage experience. The result was well-executed lines and action, coupled with looks at one another when there was too long a pause or a microphone malfunctioned. They were living in the moment as much as the audience was, and it was great.

But that was Annie, Jr. and I wrote enough about that last year.

Last Saturday, Jen and I again had great seats in The Rufus for Aladdin, Jr., yet another musical performed by the Panda Theatre, with assistance from voices of Henderson Middle School students. And again, we were grateful to witness such young talent.

Aladdin, Jr. actually featured song and dance numbers complete with several children singing and a dozen or more dancing around the stage. Back in my elementary school career, we just stood on stage as a class and butchered songs, with stilted dialogue in between.

And our sets tended to be fences and hay bales with maybe a cardboard cut out of a gingerbread house or castle. The Panda Theatre had multiple set changes complete with an ornate throne room, bustling marketplace and a flying carpet in a cloud that toured the entire stage like three times before depositing the princess back in her tower! Sheesh, do I feel gypped.

It was also great to see faces on stage we recognized from Annie, Jr., and see how far some of the children have come in less than a year. Students who brought their characters to life vividly in Annie, Jr. were back to do the same in Aladdin, Jr. But the best was to see those young people who had minor parts last year tackle big parts this year.

Which brings me to Anthony Pacchioli. Last year, he was delightful as, well, Sandy the dog. He crawled around on stage on all fours in a dog costume and said “arf!” several times. One could be forgiven for thinking that anyone asked to play a role like that would be pretty glum when it came time to perform, but Anthony managed to say more in that one syllable – “arf!” – than most of us say all day long.

This season, Anthony, now fully eight years old, played Jofar the conniving counsel of the sultan. He had a mess of lines to remember, props to master that were twice as tall as he is, and sing and act – often all at the same time. For someone who only had to master the word “arf!” last year, he really wowed Jen and I with his performance.

He wowed Charlie Brown, too. The mayor was sitting next to Jen (like I said, we had good seats) and he told us to keep an eye on Anthony. But there was so much motion and color and goings-on that I wish I could see it again to see what I missed the first time through.

And the cool thing, too, is that there is actually a program for Aladdin, Jr., just like there was for Annie, Jr. In my time, our school musical programs were a single sheet of paper, if not a half sheet, with just black ink. But not the Panda Theatre! They even have brief biographies of each player, and they all get to provide a favorite quote – “I’m not fussing, I’m just reminding,” I love your floor – now fix me a sandwich,” “Whatever I feel like, gosh!” – and their hobbies – card collecting, drawing/coloring, collecting rocks, hula, and jumping on a trampoline. Ah, that was the life, wasn’t it?

Again, I give the Panda Theatre a big thumbs up and a high five for Aladdin, Jr. It was great fun, and a wonderful warm up for Into the Woods, Jr., which will be the first community-wide children’s theater production in a long, long time in Butts County.

Maybe then someone can explain to me what the difference is between “theater” and “theatre.”