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Listen to our review of The Kensington Arts Theatre 2nd Stage production of Free To Be You and Me [MP3 3:09 0.9MB].

Laura: Yesterday afternoon we saw The Kensington Arts Theatre 2nd Stage production of Free To Be You and Me, at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn.

Mike: Free To Be You and Me was originally conceived by Marlo Thomas and several of her friends back in the early 1970’s. It was a video that was played in a lot of school systems in the 1970’s. The show itself is simply encouraging children that they be anything they want to be when they grow up and that the stereotypes that exist don’t have to exist and don’t have to apply to the children.

Laura: I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a cute show, really well acted. There wasn’t really a plot. It was more little skits and songs and dancing. They had a lot of energy. I could really see the emotion and excitement on their faces.

Mike: There were four actors and the music was provided by a keyboard. Keyboard was played by Amy Martin. The four actors were Celia Blitzer, Doe B. Kim, Meg Yednock, and Stephen P. Yednock. The four “kids” really did a good job. They were fun and they were silly. They were trying to figure out the difference between boys and girls. All those external things that you see is what they kind of focused on. “Oh, you have no hair, you must be a boy.” That type thing was really cute.

Laura: One of the musical numbers that I really enjoyed listening to was “The Pain and the Great One.” I thought that was really cute. I have a younger sister and Mike has a younger brother. I’m sure from their perspective they thought we were obnoxious and probably a pain.

Mike: I liked almost all of the different pieces that they did. There was one that kind of confused me. “Ladies First” opened up the second act. It’s a story of a bratty little girl who always had to be first in line for everything. They were telling a story about the little girl and she ends up being eaten by a tiger just because she wanted to be first. It was kind of a mixed message that if you go first, that’s a bad thing. Someone has to go first and if I allow my wife to go through a door first, I’m not being condescending to her or anything I’m being polite. That was just something that didn’t quite translate well. Maybe it made a lot more sense thirty years ago, but it was just a little off in my opinion.

Laura: Free To Be You and Me was an enjoyable show. It was an hour with an intermission. Very kid friendly. I would say probably kindergarten and up. It is playing at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, Maryland through July 15th.

Mike: If you’ve seen Free To Be You and Me or other version or dvds of the show, please feel free to leave your thoughts about it at ShowBizRadio.net. Also, feel free to sign up for our mailing list at ShowBizRadio.net/subscribe to stay informed of our reviews or other information.

Laura: And now, on with the show.