Kid Review of Addy & Uno by Waverly W. and Alessandra P., 9 years old
Book & Concept by Nava R. Silton, Music & Lyrics by Bonnie Gleicher, Directed by Donna Drake
The Mom here! What the world needs now is love, sweet love – and now we’ve got Addy & Uno to help spread the word about friendship, kindness, and how it’s definitely nice to be nice! As an added bonus, it also makes math fun (see what I did there? “Added bonus?)
Meet Addy and Uno, and Seemore, RJ, and Melody – each has their own “disability” (Uno has autism, Addy has ADD) and through their story and songs, each of them show us that we are all actually more alike than different, and that it’s our differences that truly make us each unique and special. No matter how old you are, you’ll see a bit of yourself in these puppets and you’ll leave the theater with a fresh new sense of optimism – and quite possibly, a fresh new excitement to help your kid with math homework!
Waverly here! I liked Addy right away when she started the show with a song about how she loved everything – I thought she was just like me! I have a lot going on and so much I’m interested in and my mom is always telling me to FOCUS! She’s happy and excited about everything she sees in life and her first song really put me in a good mood just to be alive!
And when I heard Uno’s song about how he wanted to be brave but also wanted to just be alone without anyone watching him when he was trying to decide if he should join the math competition, I was able to understand how a kid with autism must feel inside – and honestly, I have felt that way too lots of times!
The story that the show tells is about a group of friends who stick together and help each other through their problems. There’s Addy and Uno, of course, and Seemore, who can’t hear but can see really well and is really funny, RJ, who is in a wheelchair but has a great talent at imagination and building rockets, and Melody, who can’t see but she sure can sing! She should be in Pitch Perfect 3! There is a math competition that the friends want Uno to join since he is extremely good at math – and Addy wants the bike that is the prize! But Uno does not like to be the center of attention and he also doesn’t like all the flashing lights that come with being in a contest like that. In one of his songs he asks, “What if I feel so embarrassed just being myself?” When he sang that line I definitely could understand how he felt!
There are also two bullies in the show, because I guess there are mean bullies everywhere – they say and do mean things but after a while, they ask themselves if they should try being nice – hmm, we will let you find out the answer to that question for yourself!
The show has great songs – yes, even a fun one about my least favorite subject – math! All the actors have great voices and the songs teach you all about how the characters feel inside. I really loved when RJ was singing “Watch Me Fly” and the theater turned all dark and starry it made me think about how we all have dreams inside us that can come true if we work hard and believe in ourselves. The show was also really funny and I learned some new jokes! I like how each of the actors had the same type of thing that made their puppet character special – they really were all so talented to be able to sing and move to make the puppets dance and act while being in a wheelchair, carrying a cane, etc. That was so cool! This show was definitely great to watch and they even let you participate in it by learning a little sign language (now I want to learn it for real!) and even letting the audience do the drumroll before the big math contest – do they win? I’ll let you find that out for yourself – but I will tell you that with great friends, you’ll ALWAYS win and this show definitely makes you learn that in a very fun and unique way!
Ale here! I think Addy and Uno was a great show, especially for kids around age 5. The show is about 5 kids- Addy, Uno, Melody, Seemore and RJ. The friends are always bullied for their disabilities, and how they work through problems with them. The songs were funny and touching. My favorite one was the song that the Math Snakes sing to Uno to help him. We got to meet the cast and they were all very nice! This is a great show for a rainy afternoon (like ours) or any day where you need a fun thing to do.
The Mom here again! Your kids will love Addy and Uno – and so will you – truly a show that came along exactly when it was needed most. As I watched the show I looked around at the kids in the audience and it was obvious that they were not only enjoying themselves very much, but also seeing themselves in the characters and realizing that no matter who you are or what your limitation may be, you are not alone. And that is definitely a lesson that the world needs now.
Go check it out! Now playing at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street.
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