Lately Wichita has been in the grip of some pretty cold and snowy weather. Parents, I know you’re working overtime to battle cabin fever and entertain the wee ones. If you’re like me, you’ve played more games of UNO Attack than you can count and spent a fortune at Blockbuster renting animated movies, hoping for just one more hour of peace and quiet. Take heart, weary moms and dads: another affordable entertainment option begins next week with the Wichita Children’s Theatre “Once Upon A Time” series or, as my 5-year-old has titled it, “The Real People Movie Show.”

The “Once Upon A Time” series is performed by adult actors at the Wichita Children’s Theatre and Dance Center, located downtown at 201 Lulu. You can come just in time for the performance, but I highly recommend you spend a few dollars more and come early for dinner sponsored by Pizza Hut (show only $5.50, pizza and show $7.00). Kids and parents get two generous slices of pizza and your choice of soda or water. While you eat, there are tables set up for simple themed craft projects. One year we made beanstalks for Jack and the Beanstalk, and when it came time for Jack to climb up to the Giant’s lair, we held up our beanstalk creations and yelled, “Climb, Jack, climb.” This is just one of the many ways the actors get the audience involved in the performance.

When it’s showtime, you can either grab a colorful carpet swatch and sit on the floor in front of the stage or climb the bleachers in the back of the room. Using music, bright costumes, audience participation and even pratfalls, the actors take children on a journey through well-known fairy tales, nursery rhymes and even classic books. The spring series runs February, March and April, with a different show each month. February’s performance is based on the popular Doreen Cronin book Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type.

My daughter prefers the PJ Performances because she considers the ultimate form of rebellion to be going out in public with her pajamas on. She carefully picks out her best bedtime ensemble and then struts in to the theatre carrying her pink blanket and the lucky stuffed animal she’s chosen from her menagerie to accompany her.

Knowing that kids’ attention spans are limited, actors keep the performance to a reasonable 45 minutes. After the show, kids can line up for autographs, pictures and hugs, and the actors oblige until the last little tyke has had a chance to say hello. This was especially helpful to us after Jack and The Beanstalk , when my daughter, age 4 at the time, was a little fearful of the Giant during the show. Once she saw him up close and he flashed his familiar smile, she remembered he was also the silly “Boy” from The Boy Who Cried Wolf and all was right with the world again.

For show times, ticket prices and information on another one of our favorites, the summer Picnic Series, you can visit the Wichita Children’s Theatre website.

Related posts:

1. [do] Summer Family Fun in Wichita
2. [do] Cheap Date: Palace Theatre West
3. [do] Wichita Center for the Arts
4. [watch] “Chicago” at the Crown Uptown
5. [do] Take a Shot of Espresso Theater