"Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site" at Bay Area Children's Theatre

Bay Area Children's Theatre photo

I admit this one is a little out of the ordinary for me, but there is a back story. Last December, my wife and I attended the Theatre Bay Area awards ceremony, and one of the big winners in the small-theater musical category was a play called "Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site," by Bay Area Children's Theatre. The cast even performed a number from the show, and it was cute and funny and very well done. We were curious about the rest of the show, since it was sweeping awards, but the show had closed by then.

But now it's back! Playing at the Osher Studio in the Berkeley Arts Center downtown, they've brought back the play for a limited time before next season starts. So we thought, "Why not?"

The Play

The play is written by Austin Zimbro, based on a very popular children's book of the same name. As such, it's not terribly big on plot. The five characters represent trucks (a crane, an excavator, a dement mixer, a dump truck, and a bulldozer), and they sing songs about how hard they work all day, and how they need to work as a team to get these big jobs done. They encounter some difficulties along the way as one or another of the group either acts up or melts down in various ways, and eventually they all go to sleep so they can rest up for the next day's work.

It's cute and charming, and the program says it's appropriate for ages 3 and up. There were definitely younger kids, too, and I would say the sweet spot is about 4-5 years old. The music and voices are amplified, but not too much. You can hear everything clearly, but not be overwhelmed. The language in the show is kept pretty simple for the kids, but it's definitely not baby talk. It really is kid-appropriate.

The Production

Judging from the pictures on the website, there has been a little turnover in the cast, but they do a fine job. Quite polished, following the choreography, and interacting smoothly. The singing is quite strong, especially since they are moving around most of the time, often dancing, sometimes rolling on their "wheelie" shoes, and sometimes carrying loads of "dirt," "rocks," or "beams." It's quite clever, and engrossing for the children in the audience, but it seemed like the adults were all having a good time, too. The songs manage to be age-appropriate without seeming insipid to adults, and they teach and model good behavior without being preachy, and deal with either misbehavior or shortcomings in a positive, reinforcing way.

It's all pretty cheerful and up-tempo (aside from nap time and bedtime), the set and costumes are simple but colorful, and the 45-minute run time goes by pretty quickly. After the show, kids can meet the characters and get pictures taken with them.

Bottom Line

This was a fun outing for little kids, and probably a good introduction to what theater is like. Unlike a lot of kid shows where the kids sit on the floor in a circle and/or move around, this one involves sitting in assigned seats with adults around them. All of the kids behaved very well. The show seems to be well within their attention span.

So, what can I say? It was a fun show, well, done, and was entertaining and probably a little bit "educational" for its intended audience. For me, I probably wouldn't go out of my way without having a young one to take along (my teenager accompanied us and was charmed, by the way), but I would certainly recommend it as an outing for families with kids of the right age.

It's quality stuff, and kind of makes me want to go see their upcoming season, which starts with "The Rainbow Fish," which used to be a very popular story in our house. Perhaps it's nostalgia for the days of reading picture books with my own kid, but they seem to do a good job.