Technically, you haven’t crashed the premiere party if you didn’t eat the cake. Which means that my longer-than-average stay following the Kennedy Center opening of
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical was still within the bounds of decorum. Probably. But let’s go back to the beginning.
As if being an rock-star author/illustrator of children’s books weren’t enough for this millenium, Mo Willems also
wrote a musical based on his best-selling, award-winning book,
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. This little musical opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. As it so happens,
I live near Washington, D.C., and certainly could not miss such a musical. Which is how I found myself on the first Saturday in May at an altogether special event.
My fifth grader and I were excited to go — both loving Knuffle Bunny, musicals, and Mo. I had read about about the musical on
Mo’s blog, and was lucky enough to get tickets to the opening night performance. Because maybe Mo mentioned that was the night he would be attending the play. As we went in, I ran into Sue Corbett writing for
Publishers Weekly and Dawn Mooney from
5 Minutes for Books. They had better seats than I did.
But they may have missed what I saw: Mo and family sitting in a fairly random place in the theater among all the “regular people.” No roped-off section for the Willems clan. There was something nice about seeing the writer of such a fantastic project sitting out among the audience. Even more sweet as I saw the kisses and hugs shared among the family as the actors took their bows.
My daughter and I enjoyed the musical, and were excited about the possibility of sharing that with the Man of the Hour. We extended our congratulations — along with our fellow bloggers — as we held up traffic in the aisles. I knew that my daughter wanted to say hello to Trixie, as she
shared the stage with her in September and felt like they were now friends. Trixie was delightful and sweet, introducing us to
her friend. Who was Jacqueline Woodson’s daughter. Yes, I believe I know of that author. So I met Jacqueline Woodson, as my daughter offered her daughter — and Trixie —
Silly Bandz.
As we made our way up the aisle — now being urged along by ushers — we had a nice chat about New York City and visiting D.C. and
drawing on walls. I talked briefly with Cheryl Willems as her husband created a bottleneck leaving the theater with everyone wanting to talk to him. Having done so — and trying to recognize some sense of boundaries in not doing so again — I was now hoping to catch
an actor that my husband knows to give congrats on the great show.
It was still crowded getting out of the theater, and it didn’t really occur to me to think why until I saw the large cake and glasses of champagne. That’s when it hit me that the only people who were still there were the ones celebrating the opening performance of the show. I couldn’t resist a quick pic of the cake, but before we could make our way through the rest of the tightly packed room the speeches started. I will admit, that did put us right on the
edge of crashing the party, but it would have been much more obvious and rude to leave at that point. So we listened politely, clapped appropriately, and then left quietly.
And as I said, I don’t think it can count as crashing if we didn’t eat the cake. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
For more on the musical itself, head over to
Booklights, where I have a review and background stories. And quotes. And maybe even a picture of like the actual play or something.
Edited to add the text originally published at Booklights.
When the folks at the Kennedy Center had an idea to do a show based on the award-winning book
Knuffle Bunny, Mo Willems didn't hesitate. Okay, maybe he hesitated, but he certainly accepted the challenge to write the script and lyrics of
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical. For over two years he worked with more than thirty people to turn the picture book into a one-hour family musical.
With Grammy Award winning composer Michael Silversher taking on the music, Mo worked most closely on the script with
dramaturge Megan Alrutz. As he notes on
his blog, "If you ever get the chance to get your own Dramaturge, do it! They're awesome. The thought of losing my Dramaturge to other dramaturgically needy projects in the future fills me with dread. And, as long as you're getting a Dramaturge, get Megan. She rocks." Workshops and rehearsals with the cast and crew helped to further shape the musical with even additional tweaking even on the Friday before the performance.
The musical certainly feels like a Mo Willems production. Fans will instantly recognize the background projected on the stage and even the clothes the characters are wearing as being from the book. The plot is the same, the father takes his young daughter to the laundromat and misplaces her beloved Knuffle Bunny, causing a toddler meltdown of miscommunication and complete frustration.
For the musical, the part of Trixie is played by Stephanie D'Abruzzo, an old pal from Mo's
Sesame Street and
Sheep in the Big City days. She dives into the tough role, portraying Trixie's garbled speech and active imagination with a childlike enthusiasm. Michael John Casey gives the audience a fantastic Dad, who is ready to take on anything and make it fun. Erika Rose is the knowing Mom, and Matthew McGloin and Gia Mora handle the other characters as Puppeteers.
The children in the audience laughed during the show, and there is much for adults to appreciate as well. Trixie's inability to communicate creates much of the humor of the book and the musical, and yet it's also a real source of frustration and helplessness for both father and daughter. The musical gave an opportunity to explore this deeper connection to our own feelings of inadequacy as parents. That point when we recognize that our child has ideas and an individually that we can't always comprehend or even recognize.
This theme is evident as the father sings about all the things that he will teach his daughter, while not noticing her already intense fascination with the world around her. In fact as she expresses delight in a friendly pigeon - yes,
that pigeon - her father scares the bird away as a "dirty rat with wings." As poor Trixie sings a sad song of toddler gibberish - complete with boa and spotlight - about the loss of her stuffed friend, her father is lost in misunderstanding. And yet as he feels that frustration of not getting it and not doing it right, he still is able to tap into what is most important - the love that he feels for his little girl. Of course, it all turns out fine at the end.
Overall,
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical is a fun show for kids and their adults, with catchy music and lots of laughs along with a sentimental spirit. And what struck Mo Willems as a member of the audience? " I loved holding my daughter's hand during the song "Really, Really Love You." Best moment by far."
The show travels for eighteen months or so before returning to Kennedy Center next year, so look to catch a performance at a theater near you. If you're excited about the possibility of another Mo musical, be encouraged that he's talking about ways to work together more with the group, having enjoyed this experience so much. Whatever it is or may be, count me in the audience.
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