The Kids Left, The Dog Died,
Now What?
Now What?
TBG Theatre
What do you do when your kids have married off, the family pet has gone to the great big backyard in the sky? Runaway with the pool man? Maybe join a gym? Or write a musical? writing a 
musical is exactly what Carol Lonner did when her kids left and the dog died.
Lonner returns to NYMF this year with a musical review about twenty out of seventy-eight million baby boomers in America dealing with their coming of "middle" age in the twenty-first century. So what we have here are twenty geriatrics shuffling around recanting all of their misadventures and missed opportunities? No, they're not twenty geriatrics singing about bowel movements or false teeth - believe me I was afraid of that - but five vibrant performers in their prime of their lives. Lonner, with her recently educated view on this particular topic - she just turned thirty-nine this year, again - crafts a night of musical tenderness that both baby boomers and their children can relate to.
From the topics of grandchildren and why grandparents love and abhor them in the same breath, to the need to reconnect with another person, late in life, after the passing or leaving of a partner, every aspect of the mid life, empty nest syndrome is covered. These five actors brought to life my parents and their friends. Bravo for Ms. Lonner and the creative team of The Kids Left, The Dog Died, Now What... for creating a night of theatre that speaks to a wide range of audiences.
Now, as much as I have bashed niche theatre for its exclusivity, yet here I'm advocating it as a means of improvement for Ms. Lonner and her as is wonderful show. Maybe not niche, but a leaner casting. The men of the show is it's weak spot. They are continually being out done by their female counter parts . It's not that the men's performances are off, but that their characters are not that developed. Ms. Lonner has a personal connection to the plight of her dramatis personae, and her view on her men folk is not quite as developed. This is not a slight, but advice to make the show more solid than it already is. Had the show been a two hander about women going through their golden years, helmed by Mary Jo McConnell and Marsha Mercantan, the show could have been a lot stronger. Ms. Lonner's attuned observations about the female sect of the baby boomers could have moved the show by itself (this could just be my own personal relationship with my mother, but I think not).
When leaving the TBG Theatre Ms. Lonner sends you out warmed, with a stirring to call your mom and dad, just to say "I love you", and pester them, as much as they pester you. The Kids Left, The Dog Died... is one of those shows that sticks with you, not because its changing the face of musical theatre, but because it goes at the heart strings with a giant bow and plays you for all your worth. The funny thing is that you go along with it, enjoying each pluck from Ms. Lonner, and doing the "Casserole Roll" all the way home.
musical is exactly what Carol Lonner did when her kids left and the dog died.Lonner returns to NYMF this year with a musical review about twenty out of seventy-eight million baby boomers in America dealing with their coming of "middle" age in the twenty-first century. So what we have here are twenty geriatrics shuffling around recanting all of their misadventures and missed opportunities? No, they're not twenty geriatrics singing about bowel movements or false teeth - believe me I was afraid of that - but five vibrant performers in their prime of their lives. Lonner, with her recently educated view on this particular topic - she just turned thirty-nine this year, again - crafts a night of musical tenderness that both baby boomers and their children can relate to.
From the topics of grandchildren and why grandparents love and abhor them in the same breath, to the need to reconnect with another person, late in life, after the passing or leaving of a partner, every aspect of the mid life, empty nest syndrome is covered. These five actors brought to life my parents and their friends. Bravo for Ms. Lonner and the creative team of The Kids Left, The Dog Died, Now What... for creating a night of theatre that speaks to a wide range of audiences.
Now, as much as I have bashed niche theatre for its exclusivity, yet here I'm advocating it as a means of improvement for Ms. Lonner and her as is wonderful show. Maybe not niche, but a leaner casting. The men of the show is it's weak spot. They are continually being out done by their female counter parts . It's not that the men's performances are off, but that their characters are not that developed. Ms. Lonner has a personal connection to the plight of her dramatis personae, and her view on her men folk is not quite as developed. This is not a slight, but advice to make the show more solid than it already is. Had the show been a two hander about women going through their golden years, helmed by Mary Jo McConnell and Marsha Mercantan, the show could have been a lot stronger. Ms. Lonner's attuned observations about the female sect of the baby boomers could have moved the show by itself (this could just be my own personal relationship with my mother, but I think not).
When leaving the TBG Theatre Ms. Lonner sends you out warmed, with a stirring to call your mom and dad, just to say "I love you", and pester them, as much as they pester you. The Kids Left, The Dog Died... is one of those shows that sticks with you, not because its changing the face of musical theatre, but because it goes at the heart strings with a giant bow and plays you for all your worth. The funny thing is that you go along with it, enjoying each pluck from Ms. Lonner, and doing the "Casserole Roll" all the way home.
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