I’ve seen many a story about the ups and downs and ups of early parenthood. What’s unique about Theatre Rows That Parenting Musical, Graham and Kristina Fuller, a pair of Off-Broadway freshmen, have produced a bit of a chimera. – It’s both charming, quirky, nostalgia-driven revue and raucously, cynical cautionary tale, that briskly portrays the conception, delivery and the raising of young children.
When it comes to parenting? Rasing your first child can be a nerve wracking, exhausting, experience, AND an overwhelming source of great joy, unconditional love and personal realization.
This show features the predicable gags and TMI about pee, poop and other bodily fluids told by an on stage narrator “Rocky Horror Picture Show” style that leads in to about a dozen little vignettes of very upbeat (or downtrodden) moments in the fictional perky young parents lives.
The slightly cliched but entertaining humor I think has broad appeal and the production takes a wide swing at a target audience that has been through the trenches of early childhood development, but might be a little too soon for rookie sleep-deprived parents still nodding off in the theatre or nervously checking in with the new sitter.
While this musical romp may not convince childless couples to rush out and take the plunge into parenthood, ultimately they can be perfectly happy “npc’s” in their friend networks. (That is, until they are “blessed with” or “disaster strikes”, whichever side of the parenting coin you come down on.)
A musical number about vasectomies wasn’t on my bingo card but sure enough, That Parenting Musical delivered! There’s a through-line tracking a charming couple known as Mom and Dad beginning with those first half-dozen alarming positive pregnancy test to kindergarten “graduation” (the jury is still out if that’s even a thing, as far as I’m concerned)
The cast is rounded out by Child 1 shorty followed by Child 2, Mom’s proudly childless single friend and new slightly smarmy boyfriend Todd, who swear up and down they don’t want kids. (Spoiler Alert: Guess what, happens by the end of the show)
The musical numbers come fast and furious and the characters, are basic archetypes gamely belting out relatable songs and sketches. Including an ode to yoga pants (“the official mom uniform”) Dads cargo pants, the joys of travel before children (I personally remember fondly) the large inventory of traveling with toddlers, and the sheer exhaustion of dealing with little tykes (“Let’s cut the crap/Embarrassing/The parenting minefield is harrowing”).
The reality of young kids as biohazards for strep, flus, colds and coughs that can take the entire household down are valid. One of the most resonate numbers nails the gallows humor of how your kids will ALWAYS find the most dangerous object in any room.
The sheer volume of rapid fire shock-of-recognition laughs, ensures That Parenting Musical has more hits than misses, as others have noted it’s gags are often only marginally better than the “Dad jokes” it repeatedly parodies. (There is a QR code you can scan to submit your own cringe-worthy dad joke as you enter the theatre for a door prize)
Director Jen Wineman‘s upbeat, buoyant direction serves this likable journeyman cast very well. McKenna Ogrodnik is radiant and terrific as Mom, with Lucille Ball level timing and comedic delivery. One bit with her in an airport bathroom while holding an infant and sanitizing a favorite binky by licking it first gave me PTSD. (Yes. I’ve done it.)
Dad, Dwayne Washington’s highlight for me was “Glide,” singing to a swaddled infant during a meditation on fatherhood in the middle of the night also rang true, but this time in the most positive of ways possible.
The “children” are also well cast: “Child 2” Vidushi Goyal steals the show in “Second Child Blues. “I’m the least interesting part of this show,” as the lament made my audience chuckle and immediately welcomed her pumping the breaks on the full throttle numbers and frantic skits.
“Child 1” Max Crumm delivers lines about “titty cheese” (breast milk) and a pleasing number, “A Little Bit of Space,” that’s about supporting kids that don’t fit in to the norm be they queer or neurodivergent
Natalie Bourgeois is a find she’s Mom’s sarcastic perpetually single friend who definitely doesn’t want kids, until she meets Brian Owen who frankly seems a bit “mid” for the posh bestie, but he rings her bell!
The impressive stage design was clean, wonderfully lit and realized. Tim Mackabee‘s stellar kindergarten set, with its illuminated proscenium and walls covered with children’s crayon drawings looked phenomenal.
Alan C. Edwards‘ lighting, Tina McCarthy‘s costumes, and Jessica Paz‘s sound design help elevate the off-Broadway show.
I enjoyed The Fullers’ melodies and lyrics. Mom has a number, “Behind,” about the joys of hiding out in the bathroom. (“I’m a queen on my throne/I am clean, I’m alone.”) again. I’m not mad at them.
Because the writers clearly are parents and they get it. Hiding out in the bathroom got me through some challenging times! Being a dad, in particular a Stay-At-Home Dad, was the toughest and best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life to date.
In reviewing That Parenting Musical As the father of two, I know personally each opposing perspective is vaild. Reflecting after the show, trying to decide who’s the target audience, I was reminded of the parable of the blind men and an elephant.
It’s a story from the Indian subcontinent of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it.
Each blind man feels a different part of the animal’s body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the animal based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other.
The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people’s limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.
As a father, I can’t deny being seen in this wacky, imperfect but joyful and ultimately entertaining musical which hit me differently I suppose than others without the life experience of being a parent, to whom it might not share the same resonance. Some may even be aghast about some of the subject matter, but I suspect anyone with a sense of humor can get a kick out of this well realized production.
LISTINGS INFORMATION: That Parenting Musical is now playing at Theatre Row, Theatre 3 (410 W. 42nd Street, NYC) through November 3. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7PM, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3PM. Tickets, ranging from $59 – $79, are now on sale at TheatreRow.org or by calling the box office, 212-714-2442 ext. 45. Premium tickets are priced at $99 and VIP packages start at $149.
Art Credit -Theatre Row
