Review: Share magic of Children’s Theatre with your family

I had something of a bittersweet experience on opening night (7/23/14) of the Brucemore Outdoor Children's Theater production of 'The Land of Lost Toys” by local playwright Joe Link. My two youngest children attended the show with me, and while my 9-year-old daughter told me she thoroughly enjoyed it, my 10-year-old daughter was clearly invested in the idea that she is getting too old for this sort of thing. It seems clear that my time sharing this kind of performance with my children is winding down.

So I'm particularly inclined to encourage those of you with children of an appropriate age (I'd say 4 to 8 might be the sweet spot) to go share 'The Land of Lost Toys” with them. Link, who has been directing and writing plays for Brucemore's Outdoor Children's Theater for nearly a decade, has a gift for crafting sweet stories that allow for plenty of audience engagement, keep the kids laughing, and gently offer a lesson or two, as well.

In this latest production, he also fully invests in the idea that our imaginations can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. As the show opens, three toys explain that we're going to have to help them tell the story. Then Polly Dolly (Kaitlin Schlotfelt), Robie the robot (Nathan Nelson), and Huggins the bear (Bryan Schlotfelt) divide the audience in three and each teaches his or her section a brief story involving plenty of props ranging from gardening items to underwear. It's chaotic, but it also gets the kids involved right from the beginning.

We're then introduced to two young children, Jack (Rob Merritt) and Jill (Marti Londal), as well as their Aunt Peggy (Aimee Lee Bodensteiner), a character named for the late former director of Brucemore, Peggy Boyle Whitworth. Jack and Jill eventually find their way to the Land of Lost Toys, where they help Polly, Robie, and Huggins complete important quests - with plenty of help from the audience - so that they can attempt to please Queen Gone (also played by Bodensteiner).

The cast is delightful. Merritt and Londal are convincing as small children. Bodensteiner is warm as Aunt Peggy and chilly as Queen Gone. Nelson is winningly enthusiastic as Robie while Bryan Schlotfelt's warm voice is perfect for Huggins (even my skeptical 10-year-old admitted to wanting to hug Huggins). Kaitlin Schlotfelt stuggled just a bit with her character's rhyming speech patterns, but nevertheless projected Polly's essential sweetness.

Crewmembers Logan Graham and Megan Anderson helped bring each story to life, and Link himself, clearly delighted to be playing along with the kids, was out in the audience helping everyone remember their storytelling jobs.

Link and company are up to something special on the Brucemore grounds, and I hope you'll share it with your family. Don't let 'The Land of Lost Toys” become a lost opportunity to create some family memories.