I haven’t been to a live show in a few years. Can’t really afford it but I threw all caution to the wind when I picked up the paper one day and saw a bunch of cute little Muppets staring up at me. I love Muppets, puppets, and all the other weird little critters I can find but my partner really loves those Muppets and unlike me he was raised on them so he was thrilled when I showed him the newspaper that Fraggle Rock was coming to town. Me, I had no idea what Fraggles were… but I like experiencing new things and you can’t really go wrong with a Jim Henson production.
Luckily I showed up way early so we could eat but it turns out I had the time an hour off so we really only had time to wander aimlessly through The ToadStool Bookshop before meandering over to the theater. I have been to plenty of music gigs and plays at the Colonial and every time it was packed to the brim so I expected the same for this event buuuut… nope, there were quite a few seats and surprisingly few children considering the subject matter. Though that’s not to say there weren’t any, they just were in the first five rows and not really many beyond there.
I kept myself entertained looking for the neurospicy among us. Fraggles had to be someone’s special interest and indeed. I found two people bedecked in Fraggle Rock shirts, clearly bought before this show. I smiled to myself.
The show was as expected very geared to small children but it was still enjoyable to adults like myself. The Fraggles were full-on people in costumes which was not what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting little hand puppets but nooo, these Fraggles were ENORMOUS and danced about the stage with high squeaky voices and more energy than I’ve had in a few decades. Even more fun for me was the prop guys (and gals) who made no effort whatsoever to blend in with the scenery (beyond wearing all black) and instead literally frolicked with the Fraggles like they were also characters. It was goddamn adorable.
The story was formulaic but it was so damn cute I didn’t really care and there were songs. So many songs. I don’t know why that surprised but it did. Occassionally there was audience participation and it was really cute watching the confused children try to yell what they were prompted. Several balls got loose at one point and no one seemed to want to bounce them back towards the stage for a good ten minutes. At one point the adults in the audience had a meltdown as everyone around me yelled, “THE TRASH PILE!” I didn’t know what was going on… but apparently the huge sentient trash pile on the stage meant something to those who grew up with Fraggle rock. And for them I was happy, even if it was confusing to me.
I loved this showing. It left me feeling stupidly happy which at this point I think I really needed the pick-me-up. And at the end they shot ribbons over the crowd with no warning and the bang nearly made me jump out of my own skin but I forgive them for the jolt. In short this was GREAT for people who love Fraggles, Muppets, need something to entertain the kids, or just have rampantly untreated ADHD.
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