Hello hello hello!
My goodness it’s been quite a week since we last checked in, and this mamma’s been doing a lot more gallivanting than writing, but what else is new.
First off – hello February! Can it be February already? I still remember it being January 1st somehow and me thinking that I had heaps of time to recap and reflect on best moments and lessons learned from 2018. Sigh... and yet here we are. Time stops for no one.
Today we had quite a treat! We zoomed up to the Upper West Side to Symphony Space to catch a wonderful production of Gustafer Yellowgold at Symphony Space, then feasted on Peruvian chicken at nearby Pio Pio (was only a block away but somehow with all these kiddos in tow plus the cold weather it felt like hiking Everest), then rushed back downtown for munchkin’s piano lesson, then hosted our big man’s very first sleepover at the apartment!! Whew! (Technically he’s had “sleepovers” before when we go away on weekends but this is the first time where our guest of honor’s mummy and daddy are actually away so… #legit).
Suffice to say, we had a great old time, and the highlight was most definitely the Gustafer Yellowgold show. How incredibly original and creative! It’s written and illustrated by the two-time Grammy nominee Morgan Taylor (who headlines the entire performance), and features our protagonist Gustafer. He hails from the sun, which is fueled, somehow, entirely by raisins (makes me think of a reference to “A Raisin in the Sun”)… and has a best friend named “Slim” the purple Eel. The one hour production essentially peels away at Gustafer’s many layers and portrays him in a multi-dimensional way that appeals to both children and adults alike! For instance, one of the numbers feature Gustafer in the midst of an existentialist identity crisis whereby he didn’t want to assume the family business of trading raisins… while another episode featured Gustafer with his lady love whose name is “Ellen Lemon” (who seems to both understand and support Gustafer on all of his endeavors). The plot even thickens when we are introduced to Gustafer’s overachiever brother Ben, who somehow invents a “Sun Pod” fueled by raisins and… well, the rest is history. In a way, the narrative encourages each of us to be true to our authentic selves and not be shy of embracing our idiosyncrasies and loves. For instance, Gustaf is all about his buddy Slim who helps him “warm up” in wintry Minnesota (yes, somehow when Gustafer is beamed down to Earth he finds himself in Minnesota?). Another chapter introduces us to the robotic “Cakenstein” that Gustafer created out of sweets – and it was definitely one of the morning’s crowd-pleaser and highlights for me.
You can follow Gustafer here and all of the fantastic productions for little ones at Symphony Space. As I sat listening to these numbers, I thought to myself how lucky we are to be surrounded by such rich and diverse imagination! Then I look at the little one’s expressions and they are absolutely glued to the stage. To see that look of wonder in their eyes… there is absolutely nothing like it. Kudos to the team behind this delightful performance! We’ll definitely be back again.
