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Guilty as charged. I was over at the Meralco theater for an afternoon with the kiddies. Literally. More than 60% of the theater were kiddies probably aged 15 and below. A friend of mine invited me to watch it together with her three year old niece, so there we were four adults accompanying one kid.

The last time I watched a show there was in 1998, almost a decade ago. It was for the Trumpet’s production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I rarely watch musicals, but I’m a big fan of plays. This one piqued my interest because its original form is a made-for-TV movie on Disney channel. I watched the movie on TV because of the catchy tune I saw in one of their commercials on cable TV.

So here’s my breakdown:

Ticket Price: Php515(Balcony) via Ticketworld. Not so bad, I did pay 1,200+ for Lea Salonga’s Concert at the PICC last February and it was relatively closer to the stage. However, I paid only Php 300 for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and I was just behind the Loge Center. For avid movie goers, this might not be a good alternative as it came out around the same time as Harry Potter and Transformers. For the same amount, you’d get to watch both movies and have spare change for a third. 7/10

Acoustics: There were some moments when the music seemed like it was maxing out the speakers’ volume settings, but other than that they sounded good. I had always thought that the Meralco theater sounded good even way back when our high school had an anniversary concert there, but to think that even at the sound control area (way behind the balcony seating and even higher), the acoustics are still great. 9/10

Performers: They were relatively unknown in my book, but a quick search yielded some information. The lead guy, Sam Concepcion, was also in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. They were all trying to sound so American when most if not all of their viewers are locals. Albeit, the kids are used to listening and watching American shows, they could have sounded a bit more local. On a few occasions, some of them will slip into the local sounding diction. One of my friends commented that they sounded like they were eating their words. 6/10 - only because I noticed the slipping diction.

Length/Storyline: At some points, it felt like the show was too long. Have you ever watched shows that felt like they were too short even if they’ve been on for more than 2 hours? This one felt like it was more than 4 hours when it was just a little more than 2. You could say that some of the songs could have been cut shorter. 7/10

Some things I cannot quantify. There is a big difference when the target audience is a younger group. For instance, an announcer came out before the start of the show to lecture on how mobile phones affect the ’sound waves.’ This is funny. I’ll post separately about this. She mnetioned that doctors and those expecting important calls should hand over their phones to the ushers for call monitoring.

She also ‘lectured’ on when it is the proper time to clap and show appreciation for the performance. She even concluded it by asking all the kids to raise the mobile phones and turn them off at the count of three.

Another thing different was the souvenir program. It was sooooo colorful! It was indeed a teeny bopper magazine, souvenir program, and product catalog all rolled into one. Imagine all the marketing that went into the magazine. It is exactly what one would see in a fashion magazine, from endorsing specific products to showing what the lead characters wore and where one could buy them. Contrast this with an adult version of any souvenir program and you’d get the actors’ credentials.

All in all it was a good show for the kids, the bad girl got her just desserts for lying. They showed how abuse of power isn’t good and how friends sacrifice for the good of others. Hopefully the kids in the audience also realize the lessons in the story.