Keep It Local: Kennedy Center's Performances for Young Audiences: "Orphie and the Book of Heroes"

we are on about our 5th iteration of The Odyssey -- this one is Mary Pope Osborne's version

we brought it with us in case we needed some reading during downtime

The only negative thing we can say about the Kennedy Center's "Orphie and the Book of Heroes" is that we are numskulls for not going earlier and being able to share our review in enough time for you to go. It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Amazing. Seriously.

Now, obviously Cam and I are both huge Greek mythology buffs, but we cannot fathom how someone could not like this performance. There was music, singing, dancing, jokes, a kick-a$% female hero, sequins. From the Sirens in drag to Hermes on rollerskates, we were hooked.

"Orphie and the Book of Heroes" tells the tale of a young girl in Ancient Greece who sets out to save storyteller Homer and his Book of Heroes, which quest takes her from Mt. Olympus to the depths of the underworld. There was a perfect balance between ancient and modern, which we learned was called anachronism, and a good dose of humor. It was really simply fabulous.

Moreover, mom was incredibly impressed with the Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge performance guide handed out at the show. It went far beyond setting up the performance and story to really teaching about storytelling and theater and giving us things to focus on during the performance (e.g., keeping an ear open for what the lyrics and different musical styles told us about the characters and story).

It seems as though the shows are recommended for a slightly older set of kids, this one suggested 9+, but, and it might just be that we were already so interested in the subject matter, mom thinks kids much younger than that could still appreciate and enjoy the performances (as long as they behave and cooperate, you know). Plus, at least one show was sensory friendly, which might be a good fit for some kids. Keep your eye on the Young Audience performances coming up -- Robin Hood is coming in March and there's a good chance we'll be there. With tickets at only $20, which is just slightly more than other kid's performances in the area that aren't nearly as good, you can't beat it.

not to get sappy, but mom says this is how she feels constantly these days -- 

trying to catch up with me on the run

we have a relationship of extremes right now -- LOVE or the opposite of that

parkour, Kennedy Center style

Street Spirit: Look Both Ways: Street Art Across America

The Kennedy Center's weeklong festival of street arts was so fabulous that we feel like we have to post on it even though it's now over.  We are seriously crossing our fingers that they do something like this again!  Mom and I didn't make it to see a performance until last Friday when we caught The Red Trouser Show and Midnight Circus at Farragut Square.  I was a little cautious at first, but mom thought The Red Trouser Show was hysterical and loved the way they cajoled all the business people out for an innocent lunch from a food truck to participate in the show.  My favorite was the rope artist in Midnight Circus -- I was pretending all day to twist and dance just like her.

We had such a blast that we made sure to drag Kane and daddy to the grand finale at The Yards Park down on the SE waterfront (which is already a total favorite of ours - check out our previous posts on the park here and here) on Saturday.  It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day and we got there before 12 because we really wanted to check out the first performance of The Red Trouser Show.  We were a bit bummed when we got there because, due to low numbers of people, they'd shifted the schedule around a little bit (and we ended up missing the red pants guys).  But we were able to catch Midnight Circus, Swami Yomahami, Mutts Gone Nuts (rescue doggies doing tricks!), some of the Saw Lady, and even participated in a parade with Nana Projects.  There was a sidewalk chalk art festival, but somehow we totally missed it.

I think by far our favorite thing was still swimming in the fountains -- it was HOT.  And of course we hit up the food trucks (grilled brie and apples for us from Big Cheese, yummy Indian food from Rolls on Rolls for mommy and daddy, and, of course, delish cheesecake from That Cheesecake Truck.  want to track the trucks?  check out foodtruckfiesta -- it's frequently what we use to plan our outings!).  It was such a super cool event and all FREE.  Go Kennedy Center.