Angelina Ballerina Cast
Angelina Ballerina is one of my daughter’s favorite books so much so that she even has the iPhone app (yes, there’s an app for that.)
This past weekend, we had the opportunity to see the Angelina Ballerina musical featuring all her friends Alice, Gracie, AZ and their teacher, Ms. Mimi at the Union Square Theatre.
Angelina and her friends are excited because a special guest is coming to visit Camembert Academy! Because of their special guest, Angelina and her friends get to perform all types of dance, from hip-hop, modern dance, the Irish jig and of course, ballet for their famous visitor. But wait, Angelina doesn’t arrive early enough to sign up to perform a ballet and has to choose another form of dance. Goodness, how can Angelina Ballerina not do a ballet, after all she is not called Angelina Ballerina for nothing. Well, she comes up a solution and impresses her special guest visitor.
What I liked about the Angelina Ballerina, the musical:
- Angelina Ballerina the character – She is such a positive and upbeat character.
- The emphasis on responsibility – Angelina wakes up late and therefore misses her chance to choose ballet. It’s a perfect example of rewards and consequences and certainly gives parents a teachable moment opportunity to discuss what happens when you don’t do what you are supposed to do.
- Dealing with disappointment – Another great message- you don’t always get what you want and that “life is not fair.” Kids hear it all the time but the point here how to do you bounce back from disappointment and make “lemonade from lemons.” When the dad, starts singing about making lemonade from lemons is one of my favorite, not so much for the song itself but his props which is cute and easily understandable for smaller kids.
- The cast – All the actors were exuberant and peppy, as you would expect. The actress playing Angelina was perfect. She just had the right touch of excitement, childlike youthfulness and of course, the voice and dancing skills.
- The music by Ben Morss and lyrics by Susan DiLallo- The music was catchy, uplifting and had happy and not too cloying or sticky sweet.
- After the show dance with the cast – the cast comes into the audience and dances with the kids. Be prepared to take your kids to the front if they want to dance with Angelina.
What I did not like about Angelina Ballerina, the musical:
- Inclusion of hip-hop- this is just a pet peeve of mine. I am sure there was a conscious effort to have a variety of dances that needed to be performed but it just bugs me for some reason.
- The costumes – again, this is something that the kids would never even notice but the flesh – toned leotards for all the characters were so off in color from the rest of the costume that it was hard for me to concentrate.
- Lack of a photo opp with the cast – I think that the audience size does not allow for this. We went to see Pinkalicious and you were able to have your photos taken with the cast but the audience size was miniscule compared the Union Square Theatre.
If you are looking for an entertaining, musical experience, and your child is into Angelina Ballerina ballet, or dance, I recommend you put the show on your activities to do list. My daughter, the true critic was captivated by the performance and loved dancing with the cast at the end.
Ages: 3- 12
Dates: Now through February 19, 2011
Location: Union Square Theatre
100 E. 17th Street near Union Square Park
Two Ways to See the Show:
WIN TICKETS
Loading…
BUY TICKETS
Tickets: $39-$65
For tickets, visit http://www.vitaltheatre.org/ or call (800) 982-2787.
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom received tickets for the show.
