A Sincerely Fun Event For Kids

I have to disclose a few things straight away. 

• I'm the director of Wealthy Theatre. 
• I dislike seeing the Rapidian used by venues to promote events. 
• I'm writing this to promote a Wealthy Theatre event.

Like Thomas Fuller said, "We ought to see far enough into a hypocrite to see even his sincerity."  So here goes.

It has been a long time since we hosted an event for families.  Sure, parents in their late 30s and early 40s bring their kids to Meanwhile Movies like "Spaceballs," and "Goonies."  I'm one of those parents, sharing with my chitlins the movies I grew up on.  Funny how you forget how those movies have... loads of four-letter words.  But I digress.

So we got a call from an agency we've worked with before, who brought us "Acoustic Cafe Tour."  They said Justin Roberts (And The Not Ready For Naptime Players) was playing The Ark, in Ann Arbor, on March 13 - would we like to route him through Grand Rapids on March 14?

So far, so good - The Ark is a sister theatre, a NPO that helped guide Community Media Center (CMC) in our acquisition of a Club License to serve cocktails to members.  Much love.  This is a legendary venue.  And the Acoustic Cafe tour was one of the finest things to happen on our stage thus far in 2010. 

We put the question to our members through a blog, our Twitter followers and Facebook fans: would you come to see Justin Roberts at Wealthy Theatre? 

The response was overwhelming!  Clearly, Roberts is a well-loved children's entertainer - a goodly number of folks from GR were planning to drive to Ann Arbor to see him! 

Then we asked our friends at GR Children's Museum if they'd co-sponsor the event by helping spread the word - they happily agreed, and will be on hand (at the Justin Roberts event) on Sunday to share information about their programs, with patrons.  And East Grand Rapids Public Library agreed to promote the event. 

Finally, we considered the possibility for repentance: we're hosting Super Happy Funtime Burlesque on Saturday, March 13.  Burlesque events have a diverse attendance (race, socio-economic, gender) and there are as many 60-year old couples as 20-year olds.  But... not really one for the kids.  Not at all.

So for all these reasons, and more, we are happy to present on March 14 a performer whom Entertainment Weekly calls "Pure Fun!" - Justin Roberts & The Not Ready For Naptime Players.  His album "Pop Fly" made the National Public Radio "Best of 2008" and remains in the Amazon.com Top 10 children's recordings. 

If it works out, we're looking forward to a possible summer booking by four women who play something called "family punk rock."  Just to keep things different.

Did we mention CMC members get a big discount on tickets?  Tickets on sale online now.  Hope to see you Sunday!

Now back to my normally scheduled high standards for consistency.  Cheers.