It's difficult to say which members of the audience had a better time at Olympia Family Theater's production of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. Written by Mary Lynn Dobson, the play follows the basic Robin Hood plot but with the addition of some creative license has been described as "Monty Python for kids." The performance was around 90 minutes with an intermission and the pacing was so quick that even the youngest theatergoer did not have a chance to get bored or antsy. That, and the audience participation, resulted in howls of laughter from both the kids and the adults. 

One of the challenges of taking young children to the theater is educating them on differences between television - which they are already familiar - and a stage performance. Not only is the expected etiquette different but also transitions between scenes aren't quite what a child may be used to. Brilliantly (and thankfully), Dobson's characters break the "Fourth Wall" to educate the audience on the many different theatrical conventions used such as transitions, lighting changes and even the use of the technical director. These moments never seemed forced or belabored but instead added more humor to the play.

Read Joann Varnell's full review of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

OLYMPIA FAMILY THEATER, THE SOMEWHAT TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD, THROUGH APRIL 14, 7 P.M. THURSDAY-FRIDAY, 1 P.M. SATURDAY-SUNDAY, $12-$19, WASHINGTON CENTER, 512 WASHINGTON ST. SE, OLYMPIA, 360.753.8586