I am completely amazed and overjoyed that Iain Morton has generated such a commotion online and offline for his wonderful “critiques” of shows in NYC and in the DC area. As an active theatregoer in the DC area, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Iain. He really is as charming as he seems in his videos.

By the way, in case you’ve missed Iain’s reviews, here’s my personal favorite:

Iain has been fortunate to be exposed to the arts, particularly theatre, at such a young age. What I love about his reviews is that they highlight the importance of arts education and instilling the value of art in children. Each “critique” demonstrates a greater understanding of theatre. I wish I could have been lucky enough to see as many shows as Iain on and off Broadway by the time I was his age.

Nonetheless, although I was not exposed to the arts at the same extent as Iain by his age, I was very fortunate to have parents that took me to shows and introduced me to several cast albums and art classes over the years. Had it not been for their support and desire to further my arts education, I would not be the theatre concierge that I am today. In an age where schools are cutting arts programs left and right, I think it’s more important than ever to highlight the significance of arts education. Several reports and studies have been published emphasizing the importance of arts education on development and achievement in addition to the pure joy the arts can bring to lives. Here is one report I referenced in graduate school about re-investing in arts education.

With that said, parents, please take your children to a show! It’s the perfect indoor activity to distract them for a few hours, especially on a rainy day. Here are a few shows coming up in the DC area that may be of interest to younger audiences:

• Little Red Riding Hood and the 3 Little Pigs at the Puppet Co. (through August 31))
• Memphis the Musical at Toby’s Dinner Theatre (September 5 – November 9, at parents’ discretion)
• The Night Fairy at Imagination Stage (September 24 – October 26))
• Pinkalicious The Musical at Adventure Theatre MTC (through August 31))
• Rapunzel at the Puppet Co (September 19 – October 5))
• Shear Madness at The Kennedy Center
• Stuart Little at Adventure Theatre MTC (September 19 – October 26))
• Sunday in the Park with George at Signature Theatre (through September 21, at parents’ discretion)