Barrel of Monkeys

Are there any deeper, darker, more terrifying words in the English language than 'children's theater?'

Last winter I was contacted about taking publicity shots for The Barrel of Monkeys. Trying to keep an open mind, I asked if I could see a show first. Performing at the ungodly hour of one o'clock, I trucked down to the Neofuturarium to catch the matinee. The Barrel of Monkeys show is a collection of skits written by children and performed...for children. When I arrived at the theater, it was packed with kids ranging in age from three to ten and their parents. Many were repeat visitors and all of them, including the parents, seemed giddy with excitement.

The material covers a wide variety of topics, from a skit on how to make friends to a production number proclaiming the virtues of jelly. Where the actors found all that energy on a blustery Saturday afternoon still mystifies me, but the performance was crisp and the overall approach was respectful of the material. There is nothing more tiresome than a bunch of adult actors condescending to kids -- or worse, trying to be a kid. But this troupe assumes that their audience is smart and speaks directly to the kids in their own language. "Jelly is good," had many kids in the audience nodding at that sage observation. The audience would erupt into laughter at punch lines that completely stumped me, but there was no denying that the kids loved the show, and as a result I loved it too.

The Monkeys travel around and perform at different venues, so a trip to their website is the best way to find out how to catch a performance. And even if you don't have kids, their shows can be enjoyed on a variety of adult levels. Go. Enjoy. Jelly Rules!