Snow White - the Panto

Today after church we went to Brunssum for "Snow White - the Panto". It's the first play that Christian has ever been to, and I was a bit concerned that he wouldn't make it through the whole thing. He had a great time! (even though it was 3 1/2 hours!) It was an interactive play - they ask the audience questions, we boo when the evil queen comes out, we cheer when the good guys come out, etc. The first time everyone booed, Christian cried. :( I walked him around and he calmed down. I kind of explained to him why everyone booed. I'm not sure if he understood, but he didn't cry anymore. By the end he was joining in sometimes. I took him lots of snacks, which really helped. :) For the most part we hung out in the back, walking back and forth between the two aisles. We sat at the top of the aisles to watch, where he could walk around a little or sit in my lap.

My favorite part was during intermission. I wish I had taken a camera! Some of the kids in the play were lined up doing a little dance at the end of the first act. They invited kids from the audience to line up in front of the stage to dance with them. Christian really wanted to go, but I thought he was too little. So, I waited towards the end and then walked him down there. He stood in front of the other kids facing the audience and started dancing - really dancing. It was so cute! He was bouncing, spinning in circles, taking quick steps back and forth (kind of like Alex and Jas on the Landa's blog) and really in his own world, except when he looked up at me to smile. :) The other kids backed up and formed a little semi-circle around him to give him space and stopped dancing to watch him. It was like in the movies! Christian was oblivious to the attention, but it was really funny. Some of the other parents were filming him and taking pictures. They kept music playing during intermission, and he wanted to stay up front and dance the whole time. He even played with some of the older boys (ages 8 - 10?). He danced with them and tackled a couple of them. :) He also tackled me quite a few times. We had a good time.

During the second act he was a little more engaged in the show for the first part of it. Towards the end he was doing more hiding under the table in the back and asking where the cat was. There was a leapard in the show, and he wanted to know where it went every time it wasn't on the stage. :) Luckily the atmosphere allowed him to wander around a bit without being disruptive.

During the second act some of the characters started a conga line, that kids were invited to participate in. Christian was so excited to join in. I'm pretty sure he was the youngest one in the line. :) For the most part he just walked in the line, but his ultimate goal was to find the "cat".. which was in front of the line. Unfortunately for him, the line kept moving so he never made it to the cat. He did dance a little though. All in all, we had fun and I think he really enjoyed his first play.