Celebrity Parents Magazine

Take Your Kids To: The Amazing Max and The Box of Interesting Things

From the moment The Amazing Max rides out onto the stage on a mini sports car to the tune of Low Rider, you know that this is not going to be your garden variety magic show.

And that's a good thing.

It's hard to say who has a better time at The Amazing Max's show, the adults or the kids. Sure, the magic tricks are super cool (we especially loved one trick involving an audience member's ring disappearing...and then reappearing in a "How did he do that?" location). But what really makes for a fun experience is The Amazing Max himself. Intense, funny, and with that dash of sarcasm that New York City audiences go for, Max Darwin is fun and funny at the same time. He deftly (and dare we say, snarkily) handled a front-row five-year-old heckler in such a way that we almost fell off our seats with laughter.

The audience participation-heavy show is also ripe with one-liners. At the opening of the show, The Amazing Max said to the crowd, "I know what you're thinking. I wonder if this guy is gonna be any good. And frankly, more importantly, I'm wondering if you're going to be any good." The Amazing Max and The Box of Interesting Things is so good, so totally entertaining, that you hope once the show is over that you were, indeed, good enough for him.

 

The Amazing Max and The Box of Interesting Things is currently playing at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center in NYC. For info, please click here.

 

Take Your Kids To...: Freckleface Strawberry The Musical

  If you want to have an absolutely freckle-licious time with your children, take them to see Freckleface Strawberry The Musical. Based on the book by actress and author Julianne Moore, the play is sheer delight from start to finish, and had us smiling -- and singing-- throughout the entire performance.

Freckleface Strawberry is a cute seven year-old girl who totally dislikes her freckles and red hair. Like every kid (and frankly, pretty much every adult), she wants to fit in and be like everyone else. She tries EVERYTHING to get rid of her freckles -- from scrubbing them away to even putting on a ski mask!-- but nothing can change who she is. Of course, the big moral is that you should love the skin you're in, and eventually Freckleface does, after she realizes that being different is great and that her friends like her for who she is.

Through the artistic expertise of co-writers Rose Caiola and Gary Kupper, the play is fun and uplifting, deftly handling the ever-growing social issue of bullying in a positive way. The songs are exciting and catchy. And the cast of Freckleface Strawberry The Musical is just superb: all 20-somethings, they are able to suspend belief as they all successfully sing, dance and act as young children. Hayley Podschun, who plays Freckleface Strawberry, is fantastic, as is scene-stealer Kimiko Glenn, as Emily.

(Click below to hear Kimiko belt out her amazing solo, "I Like Danny")

 

We had an amazing time at Freckleface Strawberry The Musical; it is a show for kids and adults of all ages. And to make it even sweeter, the staff gives out free red strawberry-shaped Silly Bandz to the kids after the show. Life lessons, great music AND Silly Bandz? That's a perfect kids' day.

Freckleface Strawberry The Musical is playing at The New World Stages in NYC. For more info, please go to www.frecklefacethemusical.com.

-- Jennifer Parris

Take Your Kids To...: The Gazillion Bubble Show

The name certainly doesn't lie. The Gazillion Bubble Show in NYC has literally a gazillion (or more) bubbles in the exhilirating 75-minute show. Created by the Yang family (parents Ana and Fan, brother Jano, and son Deni), the bubble artists create a spectacularly exciting and beautiful show that stimulates the senses and truly makes you feel like a kid again. 

  We went on the night that Deni performed, and we were totally blown away  (no pun intended). Deni blew bubbles of all shapes, sizes and colors; some were then filled with smoke, others rotated around the others. It was true visual artistry, something you can tell the bubble artists take pride in. Kids were invited up on the stage to participate in various segments of the show; Deni had a genuine way with the children that helped compliment the show and made everyone feel included.

Each part of The Gazillion Bubble Show is more thrilling than the next. At one point, the entire audience was under the sea, thanks to beautiful wafting laser beams and a billion bubbles (which, by the way, smelled sooo good!). And we absolutely LOVED the part where Deni channeled his inner Neo (complete with black sunglasses) and turned the stage into The Matrix with green lasers and awesome music.

The Gazillion Bubble Show is one not to miss. You'll find yourself reaching your hands up to catch and pop the beautiful bubbles, laughing along with your kids and having a fabulous time. We sure did.

The Gazillion Bubble Show is playing at The New World Stages in NYC. For more info and to purchase tickets, please go to www.gazillionbubbleshow.com.