THE BASICS: FANCY NANCY: SPLENDIFEROUS CHRISTMAS, THE MUSICAL, book by Cara Lustik and Matthew Hardy, Music by Randy Klein, Lyrics by Matthew Hardy, directed and choreographed by Alexandria Watts. 12/6 -12/20 Sat & Sun 2:00 at Theatre of Youth 203 Allen Street, Buffalo, NY 14201 716.884.4400 theatreofyouth.org
RECOMMENDED AGES: 4 and up. Fun for the whole family (yes, parents, you’ll like it too)!
RUNTIME: 60 minutes, no intermission, plus every performance features an amusing moderated post-show talk-back with the actors.
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: The title character, Nancy Clancy, who is only in the second grade, has a flair for drama, fashion, and big vocabulary words. She delights in boas, tiaras, tutus, and French phrases. The themes of this musical are self-expression, creativity, family, friendship, and learning that true joy often comes from simple, heartfelt experiences. While Nancy revels in glitter and glamour, each Fancy Nancy story reminds us that kindness, family, and authenticity matter more than appearances.
In this musical, Nancy is especially excited for Christmas. With money earned from a boutique sale of her fancy clothes and jewelry (including selling a bracelet that her younger sister JoJo really wanted), Nancy bought a brand-new illuminated tree topper. She can’t wait to decorate the Christmas tree. In true Theater of Youth fashion, though, things will go awry, lessons will be learned, but in the end, Christmas will still be splendiferous, but less about fashion and more about family.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: With clever direction from Alexandria Watts (if you haven’t seen her on stage, you’ve seen her as the spokesperson for Valu hardware on TV), this show is very enjoyable, both for adults and especially for kids. At the performance I attended, the young audience was completely engaged, quietly following the story, then erupting appropriately with laughter and squeals of delight.
The cast is made up of younger professional actors (see the list below), most with university degrees in theater or musical theater, and they dive into their roles with enthusiasm. As revealed during the talkback, actors feed off an audience’s energy, which is why they love acting at Theater of Youth, where responses are immediate, joyful, and unfiltered. The musicians are equally experienced and get a whole lot of musical styles out of their keyboards.
My favorite song was a torchy-bluesy send-up, “No, no, JoJo,” sung by Fancy Nancy’s younger sister, who is frequently sent to her room for a time-out. Her “backup” singers, all wearing Blues Brothers sunglasses, were JoJo’s sister, mother, and father. It’s actually a very sophisticated number with three asides, part of the oral tradition of blues performance, where the singer isn’t just delivering a song but sharing a piece of her life story. In adult blues shows, those spoken moments blur the line between music and storytelling, making the performance feel intimate and communal. And here it got a lot of audience participation. You can’t get that from playing a video game.
While we all decry the fact that kids are addicted to screen time, Theatre of Youth offers children something no screen or classroom can fully replicate: the magic of shared imagination unfolding in real time. For children in the formative years, ages 4–8, attending performances such as those at Theatre of Youth expands both their minds and their hearts. That’s a two-for-one deal you can’t pass up! At this age, when play and pretend are central to learning, seeing actors transform ordinary spaces into extra-ordinary worlds is powerful validation.
Yes, it helps with language skills and Fancy Nancy definitely helps expand our vocabulary with words such as accessory, compromise, aroma, peruse, and splendiferous (which is, I looked it up, a real word recognized by Merriam-Webster and the OED). But more importantly, this musical helps develop empathy and emotional growth because theater is a community art form. Sitting in an audience teaches children patience, respect, and the joy of sharing an experience with others. They discover that stories are not just personal but part of a larger shared experience. Can you tell that I’m trying very hard to convince you to ignore the cold weather and go see this musical? It’s very good.
IF YOU DON’T KNOW FANCY NANCY: The Fancy Nancy series is a beloved collection of children’s books by Jane O’Connor, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, featuring a spirited young girl who adores all things extravagant, glittery, and “fancy.” The first book, Fancy Nancy, published in 2005 spent nearly 100 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas was the fourth book in the series, published in 2009. To date the entire series has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. The books and this musical are primarily aimed at children ages 4–8, in other wors, pre-K through 2nd or 3rd grade.
EXTRA NOTES: Understudy Performance is scheduled for Saturday, December 13 at 2:00. At Theatre of Youth, in my observation, the use of understudies is to make sure that the show goes on, because nobody wants to disappoint their young audiences. And so, in my experience, the understudies deliver first rate performances, and so it’s not a “second best” option.
The Sensory-Friendly Performance is Sunday, December 14 at 10:00am (To purchase tickets for that performance, use code: SENSORY25)
The cast:
Fancy Nancy : Amaya Sonubi , Julia Pitarresi (Understudy)
Jojo: Taylor Grosskopf, Brooke Kauderer (Understudy)
Mrs. Clancy: Timiyah Love, Lana Sugarman (Understudy)
Mr. Clancy: Aaron Gabriel Saldana, Vinny Murphy (Understudy)
Devine/Grandpa : Jetaun Louie, Sandra Roberts (Understudy)