Review: KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL at Adventure Theatre & ATMTC Academy

My 7-year-old son loves books by Mo Willems. In fact, we bought one just the other day. So, he jumped at the chance to see one of his books performed live. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical is based on the Caldecott Medal-winning book by Willems and is happening now at Adventure Theatre & ATMTC Academy at Maryland’s famous Glen Echo Park.

As we wait for the show to begin, my eye is immediately attracted to the set which is designed perfectly to take us on the journey of a day between a father and his young daughter. The set includes a video projector and my son really responded to the images he saw. Credit to set designer Megan Holden.

As a mom, I love the story. A dad gives a mom a break and takes his daughter for the day, with the mission to do the family’s laundry at the laundromat. Unfortunately for dad, he does leave his daughter Trixie’s precious Knuffle Bunny in the wash and chaos ensues. Actually, dad has to fight off oversized pieces of laundry come to life and my kids loved every bit of that part - thought it was hilarious!

Like the other plays at Adventure Theatre & ATMTC Academy, there is interaction between the actors and the young crowd. During this musical, the actors ask for answers from the children and my kids were very into that in the form of extremely loud responses. Also, a couple of times, bubbles rained down from the ceiling (helping to cleverly transport the viewer to a laundromat) and my kids were surprised and excited … and probably driving the woman in front of us crazy as they bounced around trying to pop all the bubbles.

Overall, I do have to admit this was not one of my favorites at Adventure Theatre & ATMTC Academy. I thought the songs were lackluster and, while Trenton McKenzie Beavers (Dad) does a solid job delivering his lines, I do not feel his voice is strong enough for the part he was given. His daughter Trixie, played by Ariel Friendly, has a good voice, although she tended to be so loud that it affected my senses in a negative way … and I don’t have sensory issues. My recommendation would be to just dial it back a little bit since it was so loud that you lose the fact she is actually trying to be funny in the moment.

I do not like writing negative reviews, but it’s my job to be honest and say this one does not get my recommendation. I do think this musical could improve with practice, however. The actors are obviously giving it their all. Currently, the musical as a whole is stepping down on the gas too hard and, overall, the chemistry between the actors is off and they aren’t on the same road just yet.

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