Birdie's First Theater Experience: Bluey's Big Play
On Sunday, August 6, aka the day after Birdie's first concert, we headed to another auditorium for another first. This time the three of us plus M's mother went to the State Theater at Playhouse Square to see Bluey's Big Play. Bluey, of course, is the titular character of a massively popular children's television show, and if you didn't know that there have been no younger kids in your life in the last five years.
Laurie Berkner may be a big deal in kiddie rock, but Bluey is a media empire. The upshot was an atmosphere much like the Laurie Berkner concert at a much larger scale. According to the internet, the State Theater holds about 3200 people and it sure seemed like pretty much every seat was filled with kids and their families, many of them decked out in Bluey gear. Their numbers were no doubt bolstered by the ticket sale - we bought buy one get one tickets which made it merely expensive instead of ridiculous.
The play itself was fine. One of the pleasures of an episode of Bluey is that it only lasts about 8 minutes, so even if you're beloved child asks to see the same episode over and over again, it doesn't take long. The play was more like an hour, but it kind of felt like 8 episodes jammed together with a common story acting as a framework through it and a lot more action to hold the interest of the kids, e.g., dance breaks, a disco ball, flashing lights an the like. For those who have watched a lot of Bluey, I'd guess the play takes place late in Season 2 or early in Season 3 based on the narrative points. There are direct references to a whole bunch of Bluey episodes in the first two seasons and a few hints about things that would end up happening in Season 3. They also have an extended opening that both copies and tweaks the opening theme song of the show. Weirdly, this was almost my favorite part because on the first pass through Mum wins the musical statues games and notes "but I never win!"
The characters were all played by puppets - each of the four members of the Heeler family was run by two puppeteers who were visible on stage behind the puppet, similar to The Lion King. There were also some Lion King-esque bird puppets, both ibises and songbirds. Birdie did not like the ibises, which danced across the stage at the beginning of the show to give any latecomers time to get seated. The play has some really gorgeously detailed sets as it moves through different parts of the Heeler home.
All in all, it was pretty much what we expected from the Bluey stage show. Birdie mostly seemed to enjoy it, although she did say it was too loud and quickly moved the booster seat provided by the theater to M's lap. As with Laurie Berkner, when they threw giant beach balls into the audience (ok, giant "keepy uppy" balls in a nod to both the episode and the end of the play), Birdie was almost distraught until one came near her for her to touch. She had much more fun after the show when she took some pictures in front of the stage so it looked like she was "in" Bluey & Bingo's bedroom, and in the lobby where there was an social media ready backdrop of the Heelers to pose with.
Personally, I think Birdie was a tad too young for theater just yet, even with the tie-in, and we'll probably wait at least another year before we try again. It's not like she had a terrible time, she was just mostly confused about what was going on.
Laurie Berkner may be a big deal in kiddie rock, but Bluey is a media empire. The upshot was an atmosphere much like the Laurie Berkner concert at a much larger scale. According to the internet, the State Theater holds about 3200 people and it sure seemed like pretty much every seat was filled with kids and their families, many of them decked out in Bluey gear. Their numbers were no doubt bolstered by the ticket sale - we bought buy one get one tickets which made it merely expensive instead of ridiculous.
The play itself was fine. One of the pleasures of an episode of Bluey is that it only lasts about 8 minutes, so even if you're beloved child asks to see the same episode over and over again, it doesn't take long. The play was more like an hour, but it kind of felt like 8 episodes jammed together with a common story acting as a framework through it and a lot more action to hold the interest of the kids, e.g., dance breaks, a disco ball, flashing lights an the like. For those who have watched a lot of Bluey, I'd guess the play takes place late in Season 2 or early in Season 3 based on the narrative points. There are direct references to a whole bunch of Bluey episodes in the first two seasons and a few hints about things that would end up happening in Season 3. They also have an extended opening that both copies and tweaks the opening theme song of the show. Weirdly, this was almost my favorite part because on the first pass through Mum wins the musical statues games and notes "but I never win!"
The characters were all played by puppets - each of the four members of the Heeler family was run by two puppeteers who were visible on stage behind the puppet, similar to The Lion King. There were also some Lion King-esque bird puppets, both ibises and songbirds. Birdie did not like the ibises, which danced across the stage at the beginning of the show to give any latecomers time to get seated. The play has some really gorgeously detailed sets as it moves through different parts of the Heeler home.
All in all, it was pretty much what we expected from the Bluey stage show. Birdie mostly seemed to enjoy it, although she did say it was too loud and quickly moved the booster seat provided by the theater to M's lap. As with Laurie Berkner, when they threw giant beach balls into the audience (ok, giant "keepy uppy" balls in a nod to both the episode and the end of the play), Birdie was almost distraught until one came near her for her to touch. She had much more fun after the show when she took some pictures in front of the stage so it looked like she was "in" Bluey & Bingo's bedroom, and in the lobby where there was an social media ready backdrop of the Heelers to pose with.
Personally, I think Birdie was a tad too young for theater just yet, even with the tie-in, and we'll probably wait at least another year before we try again. It's not like she had a terrible time, she was just mostly confused about what was going on.