Kiddin' Around: 'The Stinky Cheese Man' makes music and laughs at the Arden
The long: Sometimes, you and your kid just need a buncha big, goofy belly laughs. This kooky musical version of the irreverent, Caldecott-winning storybook The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, mashes up the original title character with narrator Jack (as in, and the Beanstalk), Cinderella, the Ugly Duckling, and the Cow Patty Boy (another new invention). It also lets audience members in on every silly joke.
The long: Sometimes, you and your kid just need a buncha big, goofy belly laughs. This kooky musical version of the irreverent, Caldecott-winning storybook The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Fairy Tales, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, mashes up the original title character with narrator Jack (as in, and the Beanstalk), Cinderella, the Ugly Duckling, and the Cow Patty Boy (another new invention). It also lets audience members in on every silly joke.
The short: Like a wacky, G-rated version of Into the Woods.
The demo: Elementary school on up. Goofballs only.
The length: One hour.
The trick: Five actors play a whopping 39 characters. Talk about costume changes.
Funniest in show: The Stinky Cheese Man always gets a good guffaw, but Chicken Licken and that just-as-stinky Cow Patty Boy aren't far behind.
Shout it out: Audience members interact with cast members - by talking, not by mounting the stage.
Postproduction: Stick around for a no-holds-barred Q&A with the cast. (Go ahead. Ask them how much money they make.)
Getting there: Take the El to 2nd Street, or the 5, 17, 33, 48, or 57 bus.
There: Arden Theatre, 40 N. 2nd St., through June 12; show dates and times vary; $18-$36 (discounts available for groups; student rush tickets $10), 215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org.
Lauren McCutcheon and her 4-year-old rarely get to the theater, but after a long soccer practice, they recognize that stinky cheese smell.