Schoolhouse Rocks Goes Burlesque?

Ok, admittedly this is a strange first post subject, but I figure I gotta start somewhere...

Today I had a big 'mommy date' with my two oldest boys, twins C & S, who are five. Yes, I know it's Superbowl Sunday & yes, I am the daughter of a former football coach & yes, I know exactly what all those hand gestures those men-in-stripes signal actually mean (& do explain them to my hubby, P, on the rare day he ever sets eyes on a football game). However, instead of hunkering down in front of a big screen with chips trying to decide which team to cheer for-- the Giants, located just South of us, & the Pats, located just North of us-- the boys & I headed to the theater.

A few weeks ago, I noticed in the paper that SchoolHouse Rocks, Jr *the Musical* was coming our way. I quickly purchased tickets thinking how much my guys would love it. A couple of years ago, I bought the SchoolHouse Rocks collector DVD that has all these wonderful, short, truly educational cartoons that I remember so well from my Saturday morning TV time during childhood (even ones I don't remember, The Check's In the Mail, anyone? Maybe this signifies an early disinterest in dealing with money that unfortunately remains today). Anyway, when the DVD first arrived in our home, only P & I seemed to have any interest in it, a wonderful dash of nostalgia we wanted to share with our sons, but they weren't biting. Yet suddenly out of the blue, Leo, June, Rocket, and others got pushed aside and this throw-back was discovered a few weeks ago by the boys. Now you can hear strains of Interplanet Janet, She's a Galaxy Girl from the back of the car or Electricity, Electricity from the other room as the guys change into p.j.s.

P & I used the "If you don't ___________, you won't be able to go to the SchoolHouse Rocks show" a few times over these past weeks as S & C were immediately in countdown mode when we told them about the tickets. The three of us happily piled into the car, drove off for our hour-trip to a town we had never been before. The boys tumbled over each other to get out of the van, ran down the sidewalk into the theater, skipped down to their seats & opened their eyes (& mouths) wide once the lights went down.

The musical was performed by a young actors troop & the boys were sucked in for the first moment. I thought the kids, the ones on the stage & mine in the audience, did really well. But I must admit, Conjunction Junction will now & forever be altered for me. The actors, decked out in blue jeans & solid color t's, had a few choice props that worked well during most of the numbers. The feather boas during Conjunction Junction did not, at least for me, anyway. The boas, however, seemed to work really well for the four girls performing the number, especially the soloist in front, who be-braced, didn't look older than a seventh grader. Yes, she had a great singing voice but this family-friendly show suddenly became something perhaps worthy of Dita von Treese, just roll out that large martini glass & climb in. Shaking her hips and shoulders, this girl worked that boa & added a *mature* roll in her voice as she belted out "Hooking up words & phrases & clauses," eyes shining, dreaming of the big-time, Broadway, maybe, the PussyCat Dolls lounge, perhaps....

Ok, gotta go. No, Tom & Eli in the 'big game' aren't calling. Jane, of team Austen, is!