On & Off Broadway

‘Pinkalicious: The Musical’

Review by Elyse Trevers

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I believe that children should be exposed to theater early and often. However, much good theater is prohibitively expensive and some theaters even have placed an age requirement on their audience.

So it’s exciting to find shows specifically geared to the under-7 set. In our house, the book series Pinkalicious, by Elizabeth Kann & Victoria Kann, is a literary staple. The simple tale about a young girl so enamored with the color pink that she eats herself into a case of ‘pinkititis’ has spawned a book franchise. The only antidote for our young heroine is eating lots of green food (a good case for eating green vegetables).

Presented by the Vital Theatre Company, Pinkalicious: The Musical runs for 60 minutes by including several bouncy musical numbers and two minor additional plot lines. Now Peter, Pink’s younger brother, is upset because, although he also likes pink, his father feels that pink isn’t for boys. Another minor issue is that Pink’s dad is working too much and neglecting the family. The musical liberally uses familiar lines from the book so the dialogue will be familiar to youngsters and their parents who are familiar with the stories.

The vast majority of the audience was little girls, many wearing frilly dresses and waving toy wands ($10.) They sat rapt in attention for the entire time. Shows like these are a wonderful introduction for children to the joy of theater by beginning with familiar stories, fun characters and gentle lessons.

The trip was definitely a success for our little 2 ½ year old girl who sat transfixed for the entire time and then insisted on listening to the opening song on YouTube four times during the car ride home. We may have a theater critic in the making.