Call (or Be) the Babysitter for That Parenting Musical

Sep 16, 2024 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Two Sues on the Aisle, Susie Rosenbluth and Sue Weston

Let’s admit it right up front: While That Parenting Musical, now playing Off-Broadway at Theatre Row’s Theatre 3 on 42nd Street in Manhattan, will probably have young parents laughing out loud at some of the relatable, ridiculous situations those new to the baby game are unprepared to face, the show—more of a review than a plotted musical—just doesn’t make it for grandparents and—dare we admit it—those of us who are even older than that.

There is one amazing exception. In the second act, the whole cast, all of them talented, sympathetic, and funny, participate in a send-up of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Modern Major General.” It’s called “Toddler Travel Travesty,” you don’t need to be anything more than a passenger sitting across from a family with a baby to laugh out loud.

Would that all the numbers packed such a punch.

Unprepared, Overwhelmed, and Outnumbered

The two-act show, written by real-life Mom-and-Dad team, Graham and Kristina Fuller, depicts a modern family’s journey from pregnancy to kindergarten graduation (yes, they have such things). They and the cast work hard to capture the essence of early parenting, including feeling unprepared, overwhelmed, and outnumbered. As they sing in “All I Ever Wanted,” parenting is the most challenging job you’ll ever love.

When the show hits a raw nerve—a funny song about new mothers who wear yoga pants everywhere, dads who change into cargo pants at the drop of a hat, or the occasional nostalgic memories when meeting friends who are still living “The Childless Life”—it becomes memorable; when it happily resigns itself to sappy heartwarming episodes, it’s great for the new parents.

This seems to have been the intention of its creators, who said in a joint interview, “While in the trenches of parenting two young kiddos, we learned very quickly that our experiences—as ridiculous, hilarious, heartwarming, and gross as they could be—were shared by so many others out there as to be near-universal.”

Small wonder That Parenting Musical targets “those parents who long for a night out, particularly a comedic experience shared with other parents experiencing a similar life stage.”

Great Concept

Two Sues on the Aisle liked the concept: The fear that comes once pregnancy is confirmed, you will be the parents who do everything wrong—coupled with the growing discovery that while you will make mistakes (especially when trying to childproof the living space or doing anything you can to achieve some adult company), a lot of it will be magical.

Think of bonding moments between a father and his infant son, or the bedtime rituals, when they work. Or how about the scene in an airport bathroom when the pacifier in the infant’s mouth falls on the floor, and Mom cleans it off in her own mouth before giving it back to the baby who immediately quiets.

The characters are generic: Mom (McKenna Ogrodnik), Dad (Dwayne Washington), Single Friend (Natalie Bourgeois), Child 1(Max Crumm), and Child 2 (Vidushi Goyal). Brian Owen takes many other parts. Not a weak performance among them.

Great Gift

One of the Sues thought the set design by Tim Mackabee was “incredible;” the other thought it “serviceable” and reminiscent of those used for Maurice Ravel’s opera, L’enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Enchantments).

Nitpickers in the audience might agree with one of the Sues that the first act was slow and the rap music made lyrics difficult to follow, but both Sues felt that, like parenting, the show improved with time.

Our suggestion: Grandparents, give your married-with-children kids a night out—while you babysit. This musical was written for them, and we’re pretty sure they’ll leave the theater smiling.

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Two Sues on the Aisle bases its ratings on how many challahs (1-5) it pays to buy (rather than make) to see the play, show, film, book, or exhibit being reviewed.

That Parenting Musical received 3 Challahs

Running Time: Approximately 110 minutes including intermission