Review of Harold and the Purple Crayon at Adventure Theatre
by Margo Osborne
September 29, 2008

7300 MacArthur Boulevard
Glen Echo, MD 20812
301.634.2270
Google Map

Our Kids (OK) recommends Adventure Theatre’s performance of Harold and the Purple Crayon. Although it is a recommendation, there are a few drawbacks, which made it slightly less entertaining than some of its previous stellar productions, such as Go, Dog. Go! and The Stinky Cheese Man.

Harold and the Purple Crayon is an adaptation by Adam W. Roberts from the book of the same name by Crockett Johnson. It is not necessary to read the book prior to the performance. In basic terms, it is a wonderful story about imagination and courage. Shy Harold sets out to conquer the world armed only with an oversized purple crayon, but one that can talk and sing! The best part of this show is waiting to see if Harold can draw himself out of any situation.

OK cannot say enough about the purple and white set and the eye-catching costumes. This is almost reason enough to go and see this show. Parents might have to restrain their kids from running onto the stage and taking a turn on the cool purple slide! All of the costumes are phenomenal, but the balloonists’ costumes were the OK reviewers’ favorites.

Your children will be intrigued and entertained by Branda Lock’s performance as the purple crayon. They will also enjoy Florrie Bagel and Ayanna Hardy’s performances as moose and porcupine respectively, particularly when they fight over pies. One of the characters in the show is a dragon, but he is rather tame, and OK did not spot one scared child in the audience. The performers did an excellent job juggling many roles, but it may have contributed to some of the performances not being as fine-tuned as we’ve seen in the past at Adventure Theatre.

There are several fun dance numbers, which may get your kids’ toes tapping. Before the show, ask your kids to be on the lookout for an unusual tap dance. Even more fun and educational, after the show ask your kids to add up the number of times Harold draws a new scene with his oversized purple crayon on the giant screen.

There are some really great quirky songs, such as “Directions” and “Be Nice,” but the singers’ words were inaudible at times. Also, there was no audience participation, which Adventure Theatre has encouraged in the past. They did encourage children to sit around the stage on floor cushions, but this may have been necessary due to the possibility the show was oversold. Those showing up late had a difficult time finding seats. We recommend purchasing your tickets in advance. Although the show seemed oversold, many patrons were turned away at the door. Instead of tickets, patrons are now given oversized stickers for entry, which the kids really enjoyed.

The performance started about ten minutes late, and the run time was approximately 50 minutes. The new theatre is spacious with comfortable cushioned audience seating, convenient restrooms and a birthday party room.

If you have little ones, OK recommends using your stroller as there is a bit of a walk from the parking lot to the theatre. The only downside is required outside stroller parking. After the show, the playground and carousel were huge hits with our reviewers.

Adventure Theatre is hosting a Crayon Recycling Project, which encourages interested parties to bring their old crayons to the theatre and various locations for donations. On Oct. 26 at Adventure Theatre, the crayons will be melted down in an interactive arts project with/for kids at the Children's Inn at NIH. Participants will be entered into a raffle to win four free tickets to their next production.

The show runs until November 4, 2008 on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 am and 1:30 pm (exception is November 2.) There are various special performances, including a Pajama Party on September 26, so please consult www.adventuretheatre.org. The ticket price is $12 for children ages 12 and under and $15 for adults.

Adventure Theatre recommends this show for all ages, but OK disagrees. The OK three year-old reviewer definitely enjoyed the show, but was not as mesmerized as with previous productions. Mature two year-olds might enjoy the show, but this show is geared more for ages three to about seven. There is also an upcoming limited engagement production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on November 17-26.

Our Kids Reader Comments:
"We took our 2 1/2 year old twins to see the show on a Saturday morning. Their attention span was fine throughout the 50 minute show. However, we did notice many of the younger children in the audience beginning to get restless in the final 10-15 minutes of the performance. We didn't experience the problem of not being able to hear the performers - maybe that was just a one-time glitch." - Bob R.

Did you see Harold and the Purple Crayon? What's your opinion? Just drop us a note and Our Kids will add your comments to this review.