Thomas & Friends Live on Stage: A Circus Comes to Town

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CJ loves Thomas the Tank Engine, or Thomas the Train as you may know him. It is his favorite thing in the whole wide world. A while back I was offered the opportunity to go see Thomas & Friends Live On Stage.

Thomas & Friends Live On Stage is a musical show featuring Thomas and other familiar characters from the Island Of  Sodor including Sir Topham Hatt, Percy, James, Gordon and Harold. The show tells the story of what happens when Thomas makes a mistake and the island isn’t prepared for the arrival of the circus. The story is about moving past mistakes, friendship, cooperation and teamwork.

Now CJ has only ever watched Thomas on television. Thomas & Friends Live On Stage is, as the name says, live on stage. CJ had never seen a live performance of anything. He also doesn’t always have a long attention span. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I also couldn’t imagine how something my son (and I) had only ever seen as animated would come off on stage. Figuring he’d like it at least a little I accepted.

I had the ability to choose any show that I wanted to go see. The show would be appearing at two locations in my area, I chose the one with Friday night and Saturday showings. Friday afternoon the four of us got into the truck and drove a little over an hour to the State Theater in New Brunswick for the 5 pm performance. We had a small problem with the directions on the theater site and arrived with only ten minutes to spare. The box office sat us on the aisle in the lower level a little more than half way back in the theater. We were no sooner squared away in our seats that the show began.

CJ knew the sign was for Thomas but that was about it.



He sat patiently, looking a little intrigued and somewhat less than enthralled. That changed a little when Sir Topham Hatt made his first appearance.



He immediately recognized Sir Topham Hatt. Despite the fact that his curiosity had been piqued he was calm. After all, it wasn’t like there were any trains inside the building or anything.

NOT!



Things got a little crazy for a few minutes. CJ was so happy he thought he should call to Thomas. After a few minutes of that he sat smiling, refusing to take his gaze off of Thomas. He started to settle in quietly.

NOT.



All hell was breaking loose now. He saw all of the trains and he was happier than I think I have EVER seen him. I had tears in my eyes just watching him. So did RB. We had an awesome time just watching our son’s joy, along with his clapping and singing.



All of the performers did a fantastic job. They did a great job bringing Thomas and all of the other characters to life, including Harold. I was impressed that the characters and story idea blended in so well with what we’d seen on television at home, even though the show was not based on any episode. The show was about 90 minutes long and was broken into two halves with a brief intermission.

We saw the next to last show in the US or I’d definitely be telling you to take your children to see Thomas & Friends Live On Stage now. I do recommend that you watch the Thomas & Friends Live On Stage website for future shows. I know I will be.

GINORMOUS thanks to Mom Select for making this trip possible. I will never forget watching my son’s face light up like Christmas on that July evening.