Flat Stanley

The First and Second grade children at our school went to see The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley at the Tribecca Performing Arts Center yesterday morning. The show is based on the endearing children's book series by Jeff Brown. In the books Stanley Lambchop is flattened one evening when the large bulletin board that hangs over his bed becomes unhinged and falls on him. He is discovered in the morning by his younger brother Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Lambchop are unable to fix their son but have a refreshing 'oh, well' attitude and get on with life.

Being flat (he is only a 1/2 inch think) has its advantages. Stanley is able to mail himself to California in a large envelope to visit his friend Thomas and can fly like a kite. He even saves the day at least once in each book. The stories are imaginative, clever and just plain fun.

So when I saw that Intramusic Theatricals had included a stop on their current tour only a short bus ride away from our school, I knew we had to go. Tickets were only $5.00 per student and teachers/chaperons were granted free admission. I did have some drama trying to acquire a script to give to the sign language interpreters but eventually everything worked out wonderfully.

The great surprise was just how wonderfully. This was a great production. I was so impressed. The cast, headed by the gifted and charming John Ambrosino as Flat Stanley, were obviously enjoying themselves. I could not get over John's beautiful singing voice. I don't know what I expected exactly but I didn't expect the show to be this professional. Every detail was perfection. The students loved it. I was watching them watch the show as it unfolded. Their excitement made Lauren and I smile. If the tour comes close to your area I strongly recommend that you get tickets.

Jamieson Lindenburg, Ashley Eileen Bucknam, John Ambrosino, Nanci Zoppi and Rebecca Kutz

There is a whole Flat Stanley curriculum out there that includes links with geography, mathematics, language arts and science. It has become very popular for children to create their own drawings of Flat Stanley to mail to other classes or individual children. As Stanley travels from one class to another or one child to another, children share the adventures he had on his visit with them in letters to one another.

I can see this as being a motivating way to encourage children to write but I can't seem to get on board with this one. Maybe a class somewhere really cool like Paris or Australia would help me change my mind. Maybe then I would stick myself in an envelope and join him.