Shakespeare in the Park

Last night I went with my husband, daughter, and sister to see Shakespeare in the Park. They put on A Midsummer Night's Dream. I enjoyed it very much. It had been a long time since I had been to anything like this and I really like Shakespeare. But I think what I enjoyed the most about it was introducing my daughter to Shakespeare. She is not quite 3 years old and this is the first play of any kind that I have taken her to. She certainly didn't understand what was going on, but by the end of the night she could tell us who's picture was on the fans that were handed out when we walked into the park (Shakespeare's) and she understood that the people on the stage were acting out a story.

I didn't expect her to sit through the whole 3 hours and pay attention (and she didn't) but she behaved and enjoyed it in her own way a lot better than I expected. When she wasn't wandering around our seats or playing with the fans, she actually watched the play and asked questions. She even wanted to get involved in the play. She danced and waved her arms along with the faeries; she wanted to climb the "tree" on stage when she saw Puck the fairy climb it; she laughed whenever anyone fell down and clapped along with everyone else. She even seemed to understand some of the rivalry. Her favorite character was Puck, who was dressed in bright orange clothes and had wild orange hair. She also liked the man dressed as a lion at the end.

Overall it was a fun night and my daughter is already asking when we can go again. I guess it's not too early to introduce an almost 3-year-old to Shakespeare.