The other day I took the kids to see the Chicago Kids Company perform Cinderella.

When Evie was little, we went to several productions by the Chicago Kids Company; Alice in Wonderland, which she enjoyed, and Pinocchio, which she did not. Seeing the people in costume really freaked her out, and after the Pinocchio disaster, we decided we needed a little break from plays.

However, being as she’s a little older, and a little bit into Cinderella, we decided to give it another go. For Oliver’s part, we suspected he wouldn’t be quite as nervous as she was, and anyway Cinderella didn’t have anybody in costumes.

It was a big hit.

Both kids were very excited. Evie had the most genuine smiles that I’ve seen out of her in quite awhile. Oliver was just sort of staring at everything open mouthed in wonder. For the record, Evie’s favorite part was the fairy godmother shaking her butt at the audience, and Ollie’s was yelling, “Cin-der-ell-a!”

The Chicago Kids Company definitely knows their target audience. They engage the kids and make it a lot more interactive. The Prince even came into the crowd to have girls try on the glass slipper to see if it fit (Evie wanted to do it, but lost her nerve). When it was over, Oliver gave the Fairy Godmother a big hug out in the lobby, and Evie got the picture she really wanted:

We will definitely go back to see another play!