Twelve is the age for Aquarius
Sooner or later, kids need to expand their theatrical
horizons beyond The Lion King. Hair, staged fully-clothed by RAPA
School of Performing Arts, is a groovy place to start.
Set in 1969, Hair doesn’t tell a story as much as it captures an era. Through evocative songs,
the audience is introduced to a “tribe” of New York City hippies. When one gets
drafted, he must decide whether to go to war.
My conservative 12-year-old son commented, “The hippies have
a point. But you can’t just want peace on a silver platter. To get peace, you
might have to do some unpeaceful things like war.” Then again, “The theme of
running away from the government is good. Maybe if Bill Gates did, he wouldn’t
have gotten into trouble.” Subpoenas. Draft cards. They all burn the same,
baby.
What about the drug references? My kid says, “Don’t worry.
The DARE program went way overboard on that stuff.” And a couple uses of the F
word? “I’ve heard worse on the school bus.”
Creative staging and energetic choreography helped hold my
son’s interest. And the songs! “Aquarius” was a stand out, and so was “Black
Boys/White Boys.” In case you’re wondering, “Sodomy” was cut from the show. Too
bad. The kids on the school bus could use the vocabulary upgrade.
Hair continues
August 12 and 13 at the RAPA Playhouse, 727 East Main Street. Tickets are $15,
$12 for seniors. For info go to www.rapaonline.org or call 325-3366.
— Linda Kostin (www.junkstorecowgirl.com)
Back to school daze
Are you ready for the big fall push? It’s back-to-school
shopping time again! Walking through the area Mart-Marts (an appellation my
family has bestowed upon all big box retailers) it’s been readily apparent
that, since the end of June, retailers have been laying in for the end of
summer. As well they should, because the average parent spends about $500 per
child on back-to-school “needs.” So, like the first crocuses of spring pushing
their way through the tundra, school supplies have been creeping into store
aisles and on to end-caps as retailers hastily clear out the remains of summer
merchandise.
Every year my wife and I take turns venturing into the
Mart-Marts with our children’s supply lists gripped tightly in our hands. On an
average outing, I feel like a suburban Indiana Jones searching for the Ark of
the Covenant, wading though aisles cluttered with multi-colored, two-pocket
folders, three-ring binders, and wide-ruled paper. As fortune would have it, my
kids’ tastes have moved away from licensed products emblazoned with glossy
pictures (a big relief, as they are usually more expensive than standard
supplies).
If you feel that this is happening too soon, then don’t look
behind the colorful displays filled with packages of No. 2 pencils and erasers.
If you do, then you’ll see orange and brown, pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters and
other autumnal avatars hiding around the corner, waiting for their turns on the
shelves.
— Stan Merrell
Family happenings
The Cool Kids series
culminates with the Canimals on Parade
and Cool Kids Block Party on Saturday, August 13. It’s a kids’ festival (at
the Brockport Summer Art Festival) with games, art activities, canned-good
sculptures, and raffles on Market and Main Streets (near the Canal Bridge), in
Brockport, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Bring your canned good for the sculpture
contest. www.generationcool.biz, 637-3984
See
more family listings in the Mind, Body, Spirit section of the community
calendar.
This article appears in Aug 10-16, 2005.
