Places to Go - Learning About the Classics at Orphie and the Book of Heroes - Kennedy Center Family Theater (Washington DC)

As I've mentioned many times, this has been a LAZY winter for us, so in an effort to leave the house I bought tickets for Orphie and the Book of Heroes at the Kennedy Center's Family Theater. The musical tells the story of, Orphie, an orphan girl who lives with Homer in Ancient Greece (well, in a rather imagined Ancient Greece, which contains elements of modern and ancient life) and dreams of becoming a hero (a framed poster of Hercules hangs over Orphie's bed, girl crush style). In a somewhat random turn of events, Homer is captured by Hades, the god of the underworld, and Orphie travels to save him.

As my kids have almost no knowledge of Greek mythology, some of the jokes went over their heads, but still the play kept us all entertained - especially the three drag-queen sirens, who were funny enough to warrant a sequel, and the crazy-conceited Hercules.

Regarding the play's overall "theme", I have such mixed feelings about the media's obsession with telling girls "you can be knights, heroes, ?, too." As my kids never seem to question that girls can be whatever they want to be until books/movies/plays show girls who are mocked for trying (in this case, three mean "bullies" taunt Orphie's dreams of heroism).

But all in all, the kids seemed thoroughly entertained. On the walk to the car, T said the play was "awesome. but not as awesome as Medieval Times because those knights used their swords more", which is about as good of a play review as you can hope for from my 4.5 year old. P and F both called the play "weird", but then spent the ride home discussing their favorite parts, which, for me, demonstrates a successful performance (everyone laughed about Hades' habit of saying "What the here is going on here?"). And I always love how Kennedy Center children's plays come with a kids' activity book that discusses the production in a fun illustration-filled way.

The play runs through February 25. Tickets are $20. Click here for more info. (And if you're in the mood for cinema rather than theater, we saw the Lego Movie on Sunday, which is also pretty hysterical).

How was your weekend?



Of course, no visit to the Kennedy Center is complete without a run around the balconies, regardless of temperature.

Places to Go - The Kennedy Center's Nordic Cool (Washington DC)

I love the balconies of the Kennedy Center, esp. with kids. Something about those long uninterrupted vistas makes children run and run. Back and forth for (literally) hours. Best way ever to wear out a toddler. And I just meander behind them, checking out the wonderful views of the city. Almost like the kid version of a dog park (sorry, I feel like I just offended a ton of parents with that analogy). They also have a good (though expensive) cafe on the premises, so you can make an afternoon out of it.

On the downside, the Kennedy Center is rather fancy. And fancy people often don't mix well with children. Plus parking is $10 at a minimum (up to $22 for events). So, unless something kid-friendly is playing on Millennium Stage (always free), we don't frequent the Kennedy Center very often.

Thus, I was quite happy when I read about the Kennedy's Nordic Cool Festival on Kidfriendly DC. The festival includes a giant boat sculpture made out of shirts (really cool), other random art and design exhibits, including a maze-house that my son couldn't stop running through, and LEGOS!! All for free (plus the cost of parking).

The best part about the lego exhibit (all duplo blocks) is that I interpreted it as an open invitation to disregard the fancy and let my child play. Awesomeness. Plus, once blocks started to bore him, a large array of ipads allowed T to check out videogames for awhile (who doesn't love Angry Birds?).

The festival runs through Sunday, March 17 and also includes dozens of reasonably priced ticketed events - plays, music, etc. Most of which are for older kids and adults. Click here for more info.



Seriously, they can do this all day long.



The wooden "maze" house was a HUGE hit with the kids. Despite the maze's lack of complexity or length (the house simply had multiple entrances and exits), both boys were fascinated by all of the possibilities. Well, until T started watching film footage of nordic landscapes. "Can we go there mom? Please!" "Maybe someday", I eagerly replied.



With my 50mm fixed lens, I could not get a good shot of the shirt ship. So you just have to trust me about it's coolness. Or go see it yourself.