by Lucy Allen

Last night I found myself in somewhat of a miserable mood.  Work was stressful as usual, I forgot money for the TTC ride home, and to top it off I was fighting a useless battle against a cold that’s filled my head with goo.  Why am I boring you with these mundane (and gross) details?  Because Nursury School Musical, currently playing at the Berkeley Street Theatre, made all of these things fly from my mind.

Nursery School Musical is above all else a good, entertaining show.  Parents especially will find a lot to relate to, but the show has something to offer everyone.  We’ve seen the over-protective mothers, we’ve endured people’s endless stories of their children and we’ve all had to deal with three year-olds at some point in our lives. 

Nursery School Musical pokes fun at all of these individuals in the best way possible: with simple, catchy songs.  Although there were a couple of weaker numbers, the stronger ones more than made up for it.  There was the desperate Ms. Epstein’s (played by Kylee Evans) “Single Modern Woman”, a song about choosing a career over marriage, “Brothers in Love” sung by the hilarious Aaron Walpole and Brett McCaig, and many others that stand out.

Bringing the show to life is a talented ensemble cast, most of them playing dual roles as an adult and a child (their ability to transition between these roles was a marvel).  The stand-out for both me and my show partner Amber was Aaron Walpole as the redneck Hank among other characters, who never failed to bring the audience into fits of laughter.  Cailin Stadnyk as Emma the preschooler and Hayley the stripper mom also impressed with her physical comedy.

For the most part, the show is done in a sketch-comedy style, with only the loosest of plot to hold it together focusing on the children’s first day of school (although I was I under the impression it was a longer period of time until the end of the show).  Luckily, the brisk 80 minute running time makes it work and keeps things moving at a good pace.  Don’t let the title or the fact that it’s a musical fool you though.  As with most sketch-comedies, the intended audience is adult and the satiric jokes, cultural references and occasional risqué scenes are definitely not meant for children.

Nursery School Musical only has a few performances left, so if you haven’t yet seen it I would highly recommend rushing to get tickets.  Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or just someone who needs a good laugh, Nursery School Musical will provide a surplus of them.

Details:
-Nursery School Musical plays until October 3 at the Berkeley Street Theatre at 26 Berekley Street.
-Shows start at 8pm
-Tickets are $27.80 and are general seating.
-Tickets are available online or by calling the box office at 416-368-3110.

Photo by Rachel McCaig: Kylee Evans and Diana Coatsworth in Nursery School Musical 2009.