Single and Searching

This weekend, I’m essentially functioning as a single parent, which leads to several unique opportunities as well as challenges. Opportunity-wise, there are fewer schedules that I have to coordinate. I was thinking I might take advantage of that and sneak off to a show. I will most likely have a 6 year old in tow, however, and the challenge is that all of the shows opening these days are so grown-up. I’d love to see “Grapes of Wrath,” and I will before it closes, but John Porter's review and its reminder of the 3 hour running time (even before considering some of the subject matter) makes it decidedly not a kid’s show.

Surprisingly, “Othello” is a possibility just because with Shakespeare sometimes the language just flows over a younger child and they just take in the pageantry of a show. RTP’s “Facing East” and the Mill’s “Pete n Keely” are surprisingly similar in this one way: I fear that most of the best stuff (whether searing and emotional, or goofy and comical) would go right over a 6 year old’s head. If I was single and childless for the weekend, I would consider “First Baptist of Ivy Gap” out at Hanover Tavern because I’m partial to shows featuring beautiful and talented actresses. However, while I’m sure there are important lessons imparted by this show, I don’t think my son is ready to receive them.

So I’m thinking my best option might be Sycamore Rouge’s “Jar the Floor,” which certainly sounds grown-up but also accessible for a younger person (if the reviews I’ve read that categorize it loosely as a bit like an African-American “Golden Girls” are any indication). But even as I mull over the options, I am reminded how lucky I am to live in a city where I have so many choices.