photo credit: Greg Mooney
I have been a fan of the theater ever since I was a little girl. I remember the first show I went to see was The Wiz on Broadway when I was five years old. I am passing my love of theater on to my son - I took him to see his first show when he was 10 months old. We saw the Disney production of A Lion King and although I am sure he won't remember, he stayed awake for the entire show and was fascinated.
We've continued to go to the theater so when we were offered tickets to see Disney's Mulan at The Alliance Theater we immediately said yes. The show is based on the animated film Mulan about a young Chinese girl on the verge of marriage and womanhood but she is not enthralled by the prospect of learning everything that "traditional women" must know. When her father is called to war to battle the Huns, Mulan decides to disguise herself as a male to represent her family.
The story of Mulan sets aside the idea of "gender roles" and provides the audience with the concept that you meet your goals - regardless of your gender. The production of the show was excellent. Not only did Mulan disguise herself as a man but there were only about 8 players in the show and the all played another gender during the musical.
The music is wonderful and the dialogue is quite funny. My mother laughed out loud frequently and Mekhi was always on the lookout for the Dragon, a guardian of Mulan.
photo credit: Greg Mooney
This show is appropriate for all ages and I especially appreciated that it was only about an hour and half with no intermission. Perfect for a toddler.
Mulan is playing at the Alliance Theater until March 19th. Tickets are $25 and $30. But if you use the code DISNEY you will receive a 50% discount. If you are in the Atlanta area I highly recommend seeing this show.
