My Honeylamb and I

Note to parents considering taking their young ones to Oklahoma, excuse me, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma. (Surprisingly, Hugh Jackman is not in the third tier touring company. He must be busy with something else.) It's a long, long stretch between "Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City" and "The Farmer and the Cowman Should be Friends." And in the interim, you will have to explain repeatedly in your best whisper why Curly is trying to persuade Judd that his suicide is in everyone's best interest. And while "Laurey's Dream Ballet" will actually be a highlight due to its lack of confusing/boring dialogue, you will also have to explain repeatedly that the stabbing and rape "is just pretend because she's dreaming," leaving you at a loss for how to explain the "real" stabbing at the musical's end. Damn, that plot is dark.

On the plus side, the actors will say "pigslop" repeatedly during moments of tension, causing your child to laugh loudly, a fact particularly obvious because he will be the only one laughing. And in the end, your child may have the following comment: "I had fun, Mama. I liked Oklahoma where the wind comes rushing by. Those two men were pushing each other. And then they fell down."

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