THE PIGEON GETS A BIG TIME HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA - You're Invited!

Adyson Ries as Zoomy Squirrel (front) and the cast of The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! at First Stage. Photo credit: Paul Ruffolo.

A review of The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza!

by Madelyn Verhyen, age 14

Based on the books and characters by Mo Willems, First Stage presents you with The Pigeon Gets A Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! This musical comedy consists of the squirrels creating the best holiday party, Piggy and Gerald wanting to get the best presents for each other, and The Pigeon searching for the presents that he wants "in the present." In the end, they learn more about friendships and that "the present is the present."

I could not believe it only took the actors about a month to put together the production. The Hot Dog Cast interacted with the crowd and you could tell they loved each other. The entire cast was amazing, yet Ava Sabel really stood out to me. In the show, she played Zoomy Squirrel and lit up the stage with her smile. She embodied her character to the point I couldn’t tell if that was her actual personality or not.

Some of the costumes were bought and the rest were handmade, but they were all designed by Lyndsey Kuhlmann. I loved the answer in the talkback (where you ask questions to the cast at the end of the show) as to why the characters were dressed normally. One of the cast members replied to the question saying since they felt human emotions, they dressed like humans.

This is a family friendly musical with a fa la lot of catchy holiday songs such as "Shake It Up" and "A Present For Me." The show also has great vocabulary. The definitions are given to the audience from Defining Squirrel, played by Valentina Vega in the cast I saw.

I would love for you and your family to come see this spectacular production at First Stage. It is running from November 21 to December 28. Get your tickets now, and remember, don’t let the pigeon ride the sleigh!