OhmLand

Live!

Driving to the Brentwood Theatre to see the Geffen's latest, the thought of going to an 11:00 a.m. show on a Saturday morning kept nagging.  "Eleven in the morning?  Are you sure it's not eleven at night?" we kept asking that elusive other self, the one within that manages to push up all sorts of doubts.  When we finally reached the parking lot, a huge bell went off inside the head, and suddenly everything made sense.

The throng waiting to get in came in two distinct sizes - those over three feet tall and those under three feet tall, and the "short-yarders" outnumbered the big guys at least two to one.
This is a kiddie show!  The Ohm refers to a little bit of yoga that is done on stage and the land - well, every thing for kids has been called "land" since Disney started this "land" grab naming business. This land is populated by butterflies, led by Penny, and when they see the audience they just can't figure out why the people don't have any wings.  
Grasshopper, Plop and Penny
Mike Weiss, Jolene Kim and Tara Hunnewell
Down Dawg and Up Dawg
Phillip and Posy
Shana Gregory Williams - Reign Morton
Eric Dean - Megan Smith
 
Photos by Ed Krieger

"How do they ever get around?" is the perplexing question, but perky Penny suddenly changes gears and decides that they should go surprise the sun by  taking a pre-dawn jaunt and meeting the sun just as it wakes up!  Wow!

Like any good journey, there are obstacles along the way and as Penny, bouncy and energetic and Plop, a lovely Topaz butterfly who'd rather nap and snack, are joined by Poogle and Posy and Phillip (Phillip?).  As they make their way to the Sun's waking place, they meet a charismatic Grasshopper, an incredibly funny couple of dogs, Up Dawg and Down Dawg, and a slithery, but friendly Snake.

The show thrives with interactivity, as the characters weave though the audience encouraging the little ones to join in clapping, hopping, doing some simple yoga and all kinds of other fun stuff.  The kids have a wonderful time, but for oldsters like us, the most fun is watching the parents watch their children.  No matter how terrific the children's faces are, the parents unknowingly outdo them as they wince, frown, smile and sometimes shed a tiny tear seeing their kids enjoying themselves.

You have to love the Bug Band who provides the extremely bounceable, toe-tappable and hand clappable musical numbers - all of which add to the delightful mayhem and mirth.  Their musical numbers include some of today's popular styles, integrating many of the current sounds heard throughout the world.  What the children don't realize is that each song has a little life lesson and also teaches a different yoga pose, a piece of cake for anyone under ten - but parents who try to join their kids will find the painful lessons will probably need lots of liniment and deep rub massage for days!

The best numbers are when they teach the kids how to do away with the worries they have, and when the audience is asked to join, you just know that everything has to be OK.

When the butterflies finally reach their destination, the sun is truly surprised and we are surprised that the time went by so quickly and that it was truly a fun experience.

Even without doing the yoga.

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The cast of Ohmland includes Jolene Kim as Plop; Eric Dean as Phillip; Tara Hunnewell as Penny, their leader; Melanie Lora as Poogle; Reign Morton as Down Dawg; Mike Weiss as Grasshopper; Shana Gregory Williams as Up Dawg; Megan Smith as Posey and Ben Tollefson as Snake.

Bug Band members are Mike Weiss, Musical Director, James Gray on drums, Ralph Rivers on bass and keyboard, Ben Thomas on percussion and Bass, and vocalists Lisa Donnelly and Laurie Miller.  Miguel Montalvo directs and choreographed.

December 4, 11, 18, 2004

The Geffen Playhouse

at The Brentwood Theatre

11301 Wilshire Boulevard, Building 211

Brentwood, CA