Dear Edwina: A Musical Comedy for Everyone - Fun, Entertaining and Princess-free!

This past Saturday my daughters and I saw the musical comedy Dear Edwina at the DR2 Theatre in Union Square. It was wonderful in so many ways.

Dear Edwina features a group of singing, dancing, advice-giving kids (played by adults) from the town of Paw Paw, Michigan.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of the play was that the kids in Paw Paw are able to have a good time without cell phones, TVs, or brand name consumption.

Using a play-within-a-play format, we watched as the kids from Paw Paw had a fun afternoon working together on a play they perform from Edwina's garage. Edwina and her gang provide advice on a number of kid-friendly subjects from how to be a good guest to how to decline undesirable food.

I may be a little optimistic, but I think my children might have actually learned something. Either way, they spent the rest of the afternoon singing songs from the show (instead of their usual modes of communication of whining and screaming) so I consider it a win regardless. 

I especially loved when my kids made-up their own lyrics with their own advice - mostly aimed towards helping adults (namely me) with a variety of issues from how to pack a good lunch to how to give your kids a later bedtime.

I also loved that the Dear Edwina cast featured kids with their own real, unique personalities as well as their own strengths and weaknesses. Too often these days I feel like programming for kids deals in stereotypes - the smart kid, the tough kid, the class clown.  Add in the marketing of princesses for girls, and super heros for boys, and you forget that kids can, and should be able to, make their own fun.

Living in these modern days when kids are now seen as consumers to be marketed to - and even a toy as basic as Legos has been repackaged and is sold in blue and trucks for boys and pink and flowers for girls, it's nice to see a show celebrating what's great about kids just being kids.

Dear Edwina doesn't feature a single princess, but it certainly does have real magic. I recommend it highly for kids of all ages, and best of all, its equally good for both boys and girls.

Dear Edwina is playing at the DR2 Theatre at 103 East 15th Street through Friday, February 25, 2011.

Dear Edwina tickets are $39.00 and are available on Telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200, or in person at the DR2 Theatre box office (103 East 15th Street). Tickets are also available for groups (10 or more) and birthday and holidays parties (20 or more), with party space available, and can be purchased by calling 646-747-7400. The performance schedule varies – visit www.dearedwina.com for additional details and full playing schedule.

I received four free tickets for review purposes, but my enthusiasm for the show is all my own.

Jersey-fication Complete!

Today I am making my transformation to Jersey Mom official. The (now defunct) NYC Moms Blog button is coming down, and my Jersey Moms Blog button is going up for all to see this middle-aged mom is now a Jersey girl.

You can read how much I Heart NJ here.

If you're a reader with love for NJ, tell me what the best things are about my new home state.

Tooth Fairies and Homeboys

My latest post is up on the NYC Moms Blog, The New and Improved Tooth Fairy. I'm very sad to have to report that at the end of the month the NYC Moms Blog will be no more. Even though I've only written for the site for a brief time, it was great getting to know so many other mommy bloggers online and in the real world. I'll miss all of it.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who left a comment on behalf of Homeboy Industries, in the end there were 34 in all. I feel like I'm getting off easy with just a $34 donation, so I'll happily give a bit more to help Father Greg and his truly inspiring organization. Best of luck Homeboy, I hope you make it.

It's Moving Day Again

That's right, the Random Handprints family is moving again. We're not quite sure where yet, but we are certain we're moving when our lease is up this summer.

You can read all my angst about telling my poor kids It's Moving Day Again at the NYC Moms Blog.

My mother is on her third Manhattan apartment in six years (following twenty years in the same house in Northern Virginia). When her rental apartment went condo she complained to Magpie about having to move again, and was met with the reply, "That's nothing! I've moved the same number of times as you and I'm only six years old!"

How many times have you moved in the last six years? We've moved three times, which seems like a lot, but I bet there's plenty of people out there who would tell us that's nothing.

The need to tweet?

Do I need to tweet?

And even if I don't need to tweet, do I want to tweet?

Will I like Twitter?

And, if I do, will Twitter like me back?

These questions and more are explored in my very first post at NYC Moms Blog.

And yes, you can follow me at @randomhandprint.

To Tweet or not to Tweet

To tweet or not to tweet?


I have firmly stood in the "no" camp when it comes to Twitter. I work. I have kids. I have friends I like to phone and even -- gasp! -- go out with from time to time. I have a husband, and while we have been known to IM each other even when we're in the same room ('cause we both think it's hilarious), it would be nice if I spent at least some time talking to him and not pecking away at a keyboard.



Can't there be too much of a good (online) thing? I blog. I email. And Text. I Facebook. I even update my Goodreads bookshelf periodically.

So do I really need to Tweet, too? Even the whole hash tag thing seems complicated (and annoying). And has anything of value ever really been said in 140 characters or less? Can my already full and fulfilling life really fit in one more piece of social media?

Yes, I realize if I ever find myself in a foreign jail Twitter might come in handy. And yes, I also realize I could enter nifty contests, send my whereabouts at every moment to my Facebook friends, and find out the thoughts of celebrities in real time instead of waiting for Perez Hilton to post them to his site.

But I ask you, do I need to tweet? And if I do, will I wonder how I ever lived without it?

Anna blogs about all things Mom at http://ramdomhandprints.blogspot.com/. Though she has yet to share her first tweet with the world, her twitter is randomhandprint.

Random Handprints is now on NYC Moms!

Random Handprints is no longer a blog on it's very own. I've joined the ranks at New York City Moms Blog, and I can't believe there is even the possibility that someone besides my immediate family and closest (and most loyal!) friends would read what I have to say about my own little world. So for anyone who is here reading this, thank you.