This past weekend, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati kicked off its 100th season with the performance of Casper, The Friendly Musical. This was the perfect show to kick off the 2019-2020 Mainstage season and great way to celebrate Halloween!
Casper, The Friendly Musical is a heartwarming story about a cute and friendly little ghost. The show was packed full of fun, great music, awesome special effects, laughter, and even flying!
In this premiere adaptation, Casper lives with his 3 uncles in their family mansion. Their lives were unfortunately cut short after a lightning storm. Their former maid, Magdalena, is on a personal mission to get the deed to the mansion, so she sets up a live million-dollar hunt in the mansion on her now famous reality TV show.
I absolutely loved how culturally relevant the show was, and the ending of the show had me shed a tear or two with its sweet sentiments about what’s truly important in life. Casper’s three uncles were absolutely hilarious and provided just the right amount of comedic relief. Magdalena was the perfect villain that had a selfish streak, but she wasn’t too mean or scary like most villains can be. And Casper was just a delight. He was so excited to finally have friends in the house to play with, after wishing 50 years for a friend.
Pictured above is Casper and his new friend Donald, who was dubbed as the geek. Both Casper and Donald form an unlikely friendship that was born out of their desire to feel friendship with someone. The absolute best part of this story is the message of bullying and appreciating what’s truly valuable in life. By the end of the play, all of the kids rally together, form an alliance against Magdalena, and teach each other about what matters.
This was a special show for me, as it was my first Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati production, and also my first time being in the Taft Theatre. Built in 1928, Taft Theatre still boasts of its Art Decor interior and every seat gives a clear view of the stage, which as a parent, we all know is extremely hard to find when bringing your kids to a show.
Casper will delight you and your family and is the perfect family outing for the month of October. How perfect that Casper is showing now in order to get everyone ready for Halloween! I highly recommend you take your kids to the theatre and see Casper, The Friendly Musical. Running now through October 20 at the Taft Theatre.
Casper, The Friendly Musical runs Oct. 12-20 at Taft Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit thechildrenstheatre.com.
Stephen Cole says
What a wonderful review! thanks so much from the author.