Madagascar Live!

Dancing Baby's second foray into the theatre was Friday night at the opening performance of the utterly delightful stage version of Madagascar. The show basically follows the movie, with, of course, more music and silliness. These characters have been pretty significant for DB, as her first portable high chair's lion has always been Alex, and every zebra anywhere has always been Marty, and the species is, collectively, identified as Martys, at least in our house. And we usually ride Marty at the Wolfchase Mall Merry-Go-Round, too.
We had great, unobstructed seats in the Orpheum's balcony, which is vastly preferable for a petite two-year-old. Sitting in the only slightly inclined main floor's seating just doesn't get it, when taller people are all about. She fixed on the curtain immediately upon our arrival, and when the announcer declared that the Central Park Zoo would open in ten minutes, she started winding up. From curtain-up it was hysteria. She recognized the characters, made sure the requisite adults in tow did, too, and never looked away from the stage. For all 40 minutes of Act I. She danced and laughed and was just generally delighted with the whole thing. When Intermission arrived, she almost started to cry, wanting them to "Go Again!" After our best explanation, she took a bit of comfort, and waited for Act II, refusing to leave our seats for any reason whatsoever.
She clapped and cheered when the curtain went back up. And she started asking for "Moving Moving." If you've seen the credits of the movie, you understand. Her song came up at the end, and it was time to boogie. DB was begging, "Do it again!" before the show was even over. All the way out of the Orpheum and the two blocks to the car, she kept asking if we could "See it again?" If she hadn't been going to visit another grandparent for the weekend, we just might have done that.
It was a cute show, smart enough for us old people to be entertained. But the real show for me was watching my little bundle of curls transfixed for an hour and a half, transported into a world outside her everyday experience. No, it wasn't The Iceman Cometh, but DB is already learning the power and fun of the theatre, and if we can facilitate her enjoyment of it, we'll have done a good thing.