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?'Pooh?' weaves Disney magic on stage
CEDAR RAPIDS, Nov 17, 2008 (The Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
There's little to pooh-pooh about a Pooh revue from Disney.
The 100 Acre Wood sprang to life Sunday afternoon for about 1,000 bouncers at the U.S. Cellular Center. Kids, parents and grandparents followed the springing Tigger, the singing Storyteller, the buzzing bees and the "hunnyloving" bear through 90 minutes of "Disney Live! Presents Winnie the Pooh." The only really disappointing aspect was the low turnout for the event. The top price of $51.75 might have scared away some folks, but I opted for one of the lowest ticket prices, $23.75, and landed a primo seat in the first row of the first balcony. The kids around me had plenty of room to do Pooh's "stoutness exercises" and were well engaged in the singing, dancing, bouncing and shouting.
Whenever the Disney folks wave their wands, something magical happens. This show had all the polish I expected, and some special effects that put the ooh in the aahs. Tigger, Pooh and Piglet all took turns flying across the stage and nestled deep in the 100 Acre Wood was a video screen that enhanced the action in rock star style. Confetti, streamers and snow falling on the audience added to the three-dimensional fun.
Everyone we hoped to see hopped on board to plan a surprise birthday party for Pooh. Rabbit was in charge of planning the event and baking a cake with pink sugar icing (his specialty) and Eeyore, Owl, Kanga and Roo all had jobs to do, too. Piglet had the most challenging task: keeping Pooh occupied until the perfect moment.
And just when everything was going so well, Tigger made his grand entrance on a tire swing, to the delight of his pint-size fans. He offered to find the perfect present for his "buddy bear," but all his springing and sproinging soon landed him on top of the cake and into hot water with Rabbit.
A trio of human "Hunny Helpers" in striped overalls helped move the action along, from moving set pieces with acrobatic aplomb to buzzing as bee puppeteers, leading Tigger to the perfect jar of hunny for Pooh. The helpers' goofball antics had the little boys near me squealing with delight, while another little guy spent intermission doing Tigger's "woo-hoo-hoo-hoo" yelp.
Even the moderately creepy heffalumps and woozles crept into the action during a glowin-the-dark dream sequence.
But no bother. Picture-perfect Storyteller Tracy Fisher combined a calm approach with a soothing voice to reel the audience into the scenes, while keeping everything under control. No easy feat.
-- Contact the writer: (319) 368-8508 or diana.nollen@gazcomm.com
To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids,
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