My Mommyology

Learning from Motherhood.

Education via Broadway Musicals

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Maybe I’ll blame this one on the Greatest Showman.

Sam spent some time with friends who are Greatest Showman fans.  Soon after she was googling lyrics, learning the songs, and playing them on our Spotify playlist.  We (her parents) tired of listening to the same old songs on repeat for the nth time.  And to cope with the constant This is Me car rides, I had a moment of introspection and realized that when I was her age, this is what I would do too — with Broadway Musicals.

I had a phase in my life when it was all Broadway.  My Grandfather was the one who introduced me to it, when, at the age of 10, he took me to see Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Secret Garden, all in one summer.  I took a liking to the Broadway musicals after that, and learned the songs from Cats, Evita, and Fiddler on the Roof on my own. Like me now, back then my house had Broadway on repeat.  Can anyone say #karma?

I continued to see some local and foreign plays as I grew up, and even though my husband repeats the story of how he traded Phantom of the Opera for a WWF show when he was younger (go figure right?), I’m glad he appreciates the value of this kind of “art”.  Here’s a little secret:  One of our first dates was to a ballet!  *gasp!*

We agreed on the benefits these types of musicals, concerts and more (operas, musical conciertos included), would have on the girls’ upbringing and said that we would consciously include it in our “family to do list” as it came up.

There were little introductions here and there.  I once took Sam to her first show in Manila, Wicked.

I’d love to watch this again!

Like The Greatest Showman, Defying Gravity and For Good were on our playlist for quite some time back then.  And I love to see her perk up when she hears it again and says, “why do I know this song mom?”

Thanks to all their Girl Scout selling efforts, Sam was able to watch Cinderella on stage too.

With her friend at the photo booth op.

Both Sam and Jamie were able to watch Matilda just recently as a prize for selling Nuts and Chocolates.  That was pretty cool, and one of my favorites still to date.

So far the best we’ve seen in a long time.

Segerstrom is within reasonable driving distance from us, and when I checked their calendar, School of Rock the Musical was scheduled.  A friend of mine took her son to see it and in true word-of-mouth fashion, I went ahead and bought tickets because of their review.

I remember the movie and Jack Black being pretty funny, but I could not imagine how they would translate it into a live show on stage.  Then I came across this clip of Andrew Lloyd Webber , and was pretty sold on the idea after that.  I’m not a rock fan, but I know enough of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s past musicals to know, at the very least, the music would be good.

And it was!  The lyrics to the songs were brilliant (no surprise).  And the feel of the entire musical was completely different and interesting.  I am not a rock n’ roll person, and thanks to this musical I was able to appreciate the genre a little bit better.  I think my kids did too.

The kids on the different instruments in the band were awesome.  AWESOME.  However old these children are, they are talented, and I am completely in awe.  I feel like my girls appreciate this better because they both now play instruments.  Sam even laughed at the line “cello feet” because she could relate to it given her more recent encounter with the Cello.

trying out their rock hand signals. Ohhh boy.

The girls had questions about some references and things they picked up in the show, which made our car ride conversation home all the more interesting.  But they appreciated the show over all and I love that they are expanding their palette outside of the usual choices of movies and activities to do.

All in all, the message of the musical was good (just ignore the swear words, but hey, it’s all part of the vibe).  It was great in fact for today’s times, and very relatable from a parent’s perspective.  They kept the jokes relevant and current too, which elicited some cheers from the audience.

As you would imagine, Stick it to the Man and If Only You Would Listen have been added to our car ride playlist, and I can’t complain.

Author: mymommyology

I am the mom that I am because of my two wonderful little girls. They teach me everyday.

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