Wednesday, March 21, 2018

REVIEW: You Think It's Easy Being The Tooth Fairy?

We got an opportunity to see the World Premiere of a new kid's musical last week called You Think It's Easy Being The Tooth Fairy?  It's at the Lifeline Theatre in Rogers Park until April 22 on Saturdays and Sundays, as part of their KidSeries.

 The show was fun and funny and well done and worth seeing!  It's aimed at kids that are five and over, although I think that younger kids with attention spans would like it, and my son (age 9 going on 19)  liked it too, although he thought it might be a little babyish. But the show is funny enough to be compelling for all ages.




The Tooth Fairy and her faithful helpers the Fireflies.

Get the book on Amazon.

It's based on the book by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt.  The basic story is that a brand new fairy named DewDrop auditions to be the next Tooth Fairy.  She has all sorts of ideas about what it will entail (mostly glamor and dresses and adoration from children)  But as she learns, things are not always what you expect.  Being the Tooth Fairy is not all glitz and glamor.  In fact it's mostly not.  You have to sneak into children's houses while they are asleep, avoid their pets, find the tooth and extract it from the pillow and leave the quarter behind. And it takes muscles to lift quarters and teeth when you are a fairy.  But through grit, determination, fast thinking improvisation, and  the help and encouragement of the Tooth Fairies firefly assistants, she manages to get the job done... But will she be happy?


The acting is mostly delightful, and the plot and music moves along.  The music is not very Broadwayesque-- more gospelly R&B.  The singers do a great job, and while the songs themselves are not particularly memorable (I don't think I can hum one right now) they tell the story really well, and deliver laughter when required.    All of the actors do a great job, especially the three lighnting bugs (all male) who do a sort of reverse parody of a girl group.  The three bugs also have very distinct and comical personalities.

The only real problem for us is that I think that we've told my son different things about the Tooth Fairy than what is in the show.  But he's 9.5, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually believe in the tooth fairy anymore (but he says he does, because he loves to receive financial rewards!)  And we've graduated to a dollar rather than a quarter per tooth.  He still enjoyed the show (and he'd lost two teeth the week before, so it was particularly apropos) But for younger kids especially kids who are still believing, this show is engaging, fun, funny, and a winner.

Dewdrop has to do some serious training for the rigors of being the Tooth Fairy

I also want to commend Lifeline for doing great work to make sure that they are accessible to all audience members.  The theater is wheelchair accessible.  They also offer a number of accessible performances.  This weekend they will have performances accessible to blind and deaf patrons.  Saturday March 24, both shows (11 am and 1 pm) will feature open captioning for deaf or hard of hearing patrons. On Sunday March 25, the 11 am show will have a pre-show touch tour as well as live audio description for patrons who are blind or have low vision.   And there will be an added autism/sensory-friendly performance on Sunday, April 15 at 3 p.m. for patrons with social and/or cognitive disabilities. For more information about Lifeline’s accessibility services, please contact Accessibility Coordinator Erica Foster at 773.761.4477 x703 or at access@lifelinetheatre.com



Here's a sample video:


You Think It's Easy Being The Tooth Fairy? (excerpt from "Lookin' Good" song)

You Think It’s Easy Being The Tooth Fairy? runs through Sunday, April 22 at Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave. Regular performance times are Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (Previews are Saturday, March 17 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; and Sunday, March 18 at 11 a.m.)
Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com.

Lifeline Theatre also offers “Name Your Price” tickets a half-hour before the show (subject to availability), group rates and other discounts available upon request.

 At 12 pm in between shows there will be a special Stories Come Alive! Hour. Children will enjoy an interactive storytelling session and on-your-feet theatre games. The cost is only $5 per child. Reservations for this extra session are recommended, though not required.


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