Last night we went to the Arden Theater in downtown Philly to see 'Sideway Stories from Wayside School.' It was amazing. We had dinner at Panera Bread near us and then left around 6:10pm to get to a 7pm show. That seemed like a reasonable amount of time to allot to get to the theater. Well, it was... but it was not a comfortable amount of time. Almost immediately we felt the pressure of traffic, red lights and stopped cars. Time ticked by as we nervously inched through the streets. At 9 minutes of 7, I was convinced that we weren't going to make it. We got to the parking lot, I gave Thom his ticket so he could park the car and the kids and I sprinted the block and a half to the theater. Thom caught up with us right before we got there. Everyone entering the theater looked calm and collected, while I felt all hyped-up and jittery from the almost not making it there adventure. The ticket takers told me we had plenty of time... I guess my whole being was shouting 'FREAKED OUT!'
The set was incredible. The story is set in a school that was accidentaly built on its side. The stage reflected this by having the floor on the wall, the door on the floor and the blackboard on the ceiling. Both Jack and Kitty have read the book the play was based on. The play was so much fun... we all loved it. Jack said it was his favorite Arden Theater play so far. That is high praise because we have seen many wonderful plays there.