Erin Leigh Peck News

Most of you reading this are probably already feeling the stress of this dreadful February vacation. (I mean those of you stuck at home or at work while the kids have no school. Not the ones on vacation. I'll tell you where you can put your vacation). For me, it's an endless week of manic scheduling and desperate searches to find fun things for the kids to do in between my fruitless attempts at working from home.

Did you ever have a boss who made your life a living hell? Do you have memories of being an assistant that will stay with you for the rest of your life? Are they pent up inside you, waiting to be shared with others? Was your experience reminiscent of the movie 'Swimming with Sharks'?

When playwright and performer Stephen Kaplan and his husband Will Nolan became parents, they assumed that there would be certain things they'd have to give up. I know, crazy right? My life has remained EXACTLY the same as before I became the mother of two kids.....And that would be a big lie. But I digress....

As a busy mom, I often bemoan the burden of multi-tasking. I cry and whine about how I never get enough recognition for the fact that I do six jobs at once, every day, and don't get paid for most of them. Then I met Francesca McGrory, and I knew I'd met my multi-tasking match.

MamaDrama is proud to be partnering with LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER, a national series of live readings by local writers in celebration of Mother's Day. This year will be the third for Listen To Your Mother nationwide, and the first for New York City.

My three year old couldn't be more excited: we are going to see Elmo. I'm sorry, did you not hear me? I SAID WE ARE GOING TO SEE ELMO! That's right, from Thursday, Feb. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 26, Elmo and the gang will be visiting Madison Square Garden in their new production, 1-2-3 IMAGINE!.

We've all had it happen to us. Some of us worse than others, but everyone who's lived past the age of eighteen has at some point in their lives been the target of a bully. For me it was a boy named Chris who used to torture me at the bus stop (are you reading this you jerk?). For a whole year of my life, I started out each morning being called names by a boy who I now realize was too insecure to just hang out and talk to other kids for ten minutes without diverting the focus off of himself. I wonder what it was he was so afraid of the rest of us seeing?

Remember last Spring when I took my daughter to see Sister Act? It was her very first Broadway show, and a perfect choice for a little Jewish girl who is terrified of guns on stage. She ended up loving every moment of it and I was able to proudly recommend it for kids ages ten and up.

I've never been to the circus. Can you believe it? I'm thirty (ahem) years old and have never seen a show under the big top, and neither have my kids. They also never tasted cotton candy…until last Wednesday, that is, when we followed New York winter break tradition and caught the Big Apple Circus' latest show, "Dream Big".

Why, why, why is it always the mom who has to do all of the gift-buying? I work. I take care of the kids. I produce spare hours by magic when the day is over and there's work left to be done. Why is it MY responsibility to make sure nobody thinks we are too rude to give gifts? Just when all this extra holiday responsibility is piled on my plate (shopping, holiday card mailing, end-of-year-tipping, packing, cooking and shopping, shopping, shopping!), that's when the kids are off school and all the babysitters in NYC go on vacation. I'm even late with this article! It was supposed to be in last week. But hopefully the rest of you are as late with your holiday shopping as I am and this information is coming just in time.

Did you hear the news? The Fresh Beats are coming. You might be too late to grab a ticket, but if you want to see them live, RUN. Seriously. Or check ebay. Or get a job writing about family theatre. This thing is the hottest ticket since Barbara Streisand's final farewell tour. Both of them.

This past weekend my family observed our December tradition by visiting the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens. While it's not your typical "show", it is a grand experiment in theatricality and a wonder for any child, especially one interested in trains or design (future set designer anyone?). Natural materials such as bark, twigs, stems, fruits, seeds, and pinecones, are used to create more than 140 scaled, iconic buildings, including the original New Amsterdam Theatre and Radio City Music Hall. Amidst the twinkling glow of holiday lights that surround this enchanted model New York, more than a dozen model railway trains-from late-1800s American steam engines and streetcars to modern freight and high-speed passenger trains and trolleys-traverse nearly a quarter-mile of track across rustic bridges, along overhead trestles, through tunnels, and past waterfalls that cascade into flowing creeks. And yes, Thomas is there.

When I heard that Madison Square Garden would be hosting a production of Peter Pan this month, I knew I had to bring my kids to see it. We've had an amazing year since I started covering family theatre for BroadwayWorld. My kids and I have seen a lot of great shows. But Peter Pan brings it all full circle for me, because long, long ago, in a time called the early 80's, Peter Pan was playing at the Lunt-Fontanne and it was the first Broadway show I ever saw. Back then, Peter was played by Sandy Duncan, one of the three iconic Peter Pans along with Mary Martin and of course Cathy Rigby.

It's official. Julianne Moore's polka-dotted optimist is back in New York after a successful run at New World Stages. She's been gone since last Spring and we've missed her rosy cheeks and crimson curls. It's been a year since my daughter and I first saw the musical to which all other children's musicals would be compared. Click HERE to read about our experience with this funny, quirky story that carries a weighty message of anti-bullying and self-acceptance.

If you're looking for weekend plans, you still have time to catch the kids from SHUFFLES dance and musical theatre academy strut there stuf at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center. Peter PANtomime tells the classic Peter Pan story with a tap-dancing twist, and all the performers are kids. (All except three Broadway guest artist mentors including Liza Gennaro who directed me in my college production of ON THE TOWN and is the associate choreographer of Peter PANtomime). I brought my three-year-old last night and he was captivated. Just the fact that he sat still for an hour impressed me, but more impressive were a few of the young Broadway stars-to-be on the stage. I guess that's what you get when you attend a New York City dance recital. Some of the kids here are the real deal! It's a long way from my strip-mall dance studio in Connecticut, that's for sure.

On the heels of the popular and well received launch of the original production ANGELINA BALLERINA THE MUSICAL last fall, Vital Theatre Company and HIT Entertainment continue their collaboration with an all-new live musical production. In ANGELINA BALLERINATM THE VERY MERRY HOLIDAY MUSICAL, Angelina and her friends are planning an absolutely positively spectacular holiday dance pageant; the best in all of Mouseland! When a mix-up prevents the pageant from going on, Angelina and her friends must use their creativity to save the show. By working together, Angelina, Alice, Gracie, AZ, Marco and Angelina's little sister Polly discover the true spirit of the holidays. It's not about things you receive, but the holiday cheer you share. With dancing, singing and festivities, this heart-warming musical is perfect for the holiday season!

On December 10th, an old favorite and an exciting new addition to the New York family theatre scene will be giving something back. Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, the new Off-Broadway destination for family theatre, will be donating all proceeds from the 3 PM performance of Freckleface Strawberry and the 5 PM performance of the new show Peter PANtomime to Save the Children. It's a great way to take advantage of some terrific family theatre while supporting an important cause this holiday season.

About three years ago, when my daughter was five, she was invited to join a classmate and the classmate's grandmother on a Grandmother/Granddaughter day at the theatre. This lovely woman had graciously paid for Orchestra seats to The Lion King for her grandchild and my daughter. Full price orchestra seats. You can see where this is going…ten minutes into the first act, my daughter got scared and all three of them ended up watching the show from the monitors in the Lobby. For the price of three orchestra seats.

Last weekend the folks at Disney Theatrical set me and my daughter up for a real treat. My eight-year-old, her friend and I along with other bloggers and columnists were all invited on a special preview tour of the New Amsterdam Theatre, home to Broadway's Mary Poppins. This was more than a backstage tour (which ps, you can get if you toss $150 into the BCEFA holiday collection bucket from now until December 4th…if you are lucky enough to be seeing Mary Poppins this week, consider taking advantage of this special treat in return for supporting a terrific cause).

Last week marked the official, one-year anniversary of BroadwayWorld Jr. I took a moment to look back on the first few shows I took my kids to see last year. My daughter, then six, was young enough to enjoy children's theatre designed for actual children and my son, then two, was too young to enjoy anything. Now I find my theatre-going family is moving on to the next stage. Later this week, my almost-eight-year-old and I will catch a preview of Lysistrata Jones, and my little guy is over the moon excited to see more shows with Mommy.