Anthony Natarelli, Sarah Hayes, Janos Horvath, Nicholas Munson, Cydney Roelandt, Antoinette Holman, and Brad Hauskins in Jingle Arrgh the Way

It is, according to a seasonal song, the beginning of that “most wonderful time of the year.” And on the day after Thanksgiving, I, along with my seven-year-old grandson John, attended the opening of the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's holiday production in a traditional celebration of … pirates.

Jack Theiling and Ben Klocke in Lyle the Crocodile

Moving into a Victorian brownstone in the heart of New York City would be an adventure in itself, but imagine moving in and finding a full-grown crocodile in the bathroom. This is the start of a series of events in director Andrea Moore's Lyle the Crocodile, the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's latest family musical. Being familiar with author Bernard Waber's 1960s picture books on which this show is based, I feared the production would be too baby-ish for my “sophisticated” eight-year-old granddaughter Ava. But she consented to attend the June 25 performance with me, and afterward we agreed that the story was appealing to both elementary-school-age children and their parents. She did, however, point out that kids may have to know a little about Lyle's time and place (New York City in the 1950s), and about its references to turning crocs into purses and shoes, which she informed me was now illegal.

My husband and I have been taking our granddaughter Ava to stage presentations since she was three. She is now eight and has her own opinions about what makes good theatre, and one of her complaints about some productions is that they require adult actors to play children. As Ava insists, "It just isn't believable." I agree. It often seems forced.