The Snowy Day Reviews

Washington Post- Recommended

"... So it’s no surprise that the musical “The Snowy Day,” making its world premiere at Adventure Theatre, turns out to be a different creature from Keats’s Caldecott Medal-winning creation. Writer David Emerson Toney and composer/lyricist Darius Smith ratchet up Peter’s boisterousness quotient and pair him with some quirky acquaintances, including a snow pirate (move over, Jack Sparrow!), an anxious snowman and an acrophobic bird who’s fond of succotash. With these eccentric companions, the boy plunges into a few mild adventures and a Caribbean-flavored dream. It’s a story line that might strike adult ticket holders as somewhat arbitrarily plotted, but younger audiences will find the production — given perky momentum by director Jessica Burgess — both funny and enthralling. (Adventure recommends the show for all ages.)"

Washingtonian- Highly Recommended

"... High-spirited, tuneful, and inventive, the 55-minute musical, wittily staged by director Jessica Burgess, takes Keats’s minimalist fable about a little city boy going out to play in a new snowfall and opens it up in all kinds of ways, while still nodding to the original. Peter still conjures up his own adventures, but now his Ma gives him ideas to work with, and those adventures take the shape of other actors in dual or triple roles. Washington-based David Emerson Toney, an actor and playwright, penned the script, transforming Keats’s quiet, contemplative story with new events and characters and more than a dash of attitude. The result is different in tone but the same in heart. Toney also makes sure we know Peter and his mother live in a southern city where snow is so rare that Peter has never seen it before, which ups the ante for his special day."

Our Kids- Highly Recommended

"...The great thing about the production is it's a puppet show, musical and play all wrapped into one awesome little performance. At 55 minutes, I didn't even notice the time because the show had the entire audience captivated with groovy dance moves and artificial drops of snow."

MD Theatre Guide- Recommended

"... It was great seeing that the children in the audience really loving The Snowy Day. They danced along in the aisles, and excitedly shouted advice to the characters from their seats, and their parents seemed to get just as much enjoyment watching their children have a wonderful time!"

DCTheatreScene- Highly Recommended

Adventure Theater takes the classic story by Ezra Jack Keats to a new fun-filled level in this world premiere musical The Snowy Day. From the opening moments when the mistress of Snow surreptitiously creates a winter wonderland spritzing snowflakes all about, to the finale where all the characters rejoice over the wonders of a new snowy day, the production exudes enough warmth and charm to toast the chilliest toes. The story is carried along by cool jazzy tunes and bouncy lyrics by Darius Smith with enough pizzazz for the characters to bust some terrific moves, choreography by Kurt Boehm.