If You Give a Pig a Party

Last night my mom and I took the monkeys to the first show in the Orpheum Family Series, If You Give a Pig a Party. Once there, I noticed a woman behind us was reading the book to her daughters. That's when I clued in and realized that all of the shows this season are based on books.

When I saw the stage, which was decorated like the cover of the book, and Pig, I started getting a little nervous. "I hope they don't notice this is a GIRL play," I said to my mom.

The first act involved Pig and her owner/friend decorating for the party and picking out a dress. "I hope I don't have to poke my eyeballs out with a fork," I said to my mom. However, the monkeys, who were happily eating Junior Mints and Skittles, were very interested in what was going on. When Pig's doll came alive and started acting silly, they loved it. Soon they had their eyes glued to the stage.

As Pig's friends--Moose, Mouse, Cat, & Dog--joined in the story, it got much more interesting. My mom and I mildly enjoyed the show, but very much enjoyed seeing the monkeys embracing live theater. A few times during the show, the cast ran out into the audience, which really got everyone excited. Also they came out into the lobby to sign autographs and take pictures at the end.

The monkeys were too shy to actually get a picture taken, but they liked seeing everyone up close. I imagine the more we do things like this, the less shy they will become. (Then hopefully they won't end up like me at age 27 outside a NY theater bright red and grasping a bouquet while my older sister yelled, "Parker (Posey)! My sister loves you! She bought you flowers!" and my mom dragged me over to her and ordered her to take a picture with me.)

There was a relatively large crowd at The Orpheum--mostly the under 5 set. It was general seating, so you could sit anywhere you wanted. We tried to get close to the front, but I think next time I'll try and get us up in one of the cool private balconies. It was a laidback atmosphere with squirming, cheering, and frequent trips to the bathroom allowed. The only thing that seemed somewhat alarming was the child a few rows over who seemed to be battling whooping cough.

Next up is Tomas and the Library Lady which is about a boy who needs more stories than his grandfather can tell. It's a fictionalized story from a real person's life--Tomas Rivera, who went from being a migrant worker to the Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside. It's Monday the 19th at 6:00pm.

I'm torn on the 6:00pm part. Yesterday I had to leave work early in order to pick up the monkeys and get them fed (more on that here...) . I'm pretty sure when we saw Little Donkey (which ROCKED!) it started later. However, it was nice to have our "evening out" completed by 7:30pm. (When the show was over, Satchel asked, "Is it midnight?") If they had little box dinners or something at the Orpheum (that didn't cost a fortune) then 6:00pm would be perfect!

Individual tickets are $12.50, but you can get tickets to all four shows for $32. Well, there are only three shows left you say. Rumor (well, actually it is more than a rumor) has it that if you buy 4 tickets to one show you can still get the discounted price.

I also recommend trying to score some free parking at a nearby parking meter rather than paying $10 to park next to the theater. However, depending on the weather, the $10 may be worth it.