REVIEW: This Play Might Turn Your Whole Family Pirate

NWCT’s How I Became a Pirate Plunders the Hearts of Landlubbers Everywhere.

How I Became a Pirate is a delightful, hour long musical adventure. The audience is invited into the imagination of Jeremy Jacob and carried out to sea with a ragtag bunch of pirates led by Captain Braid Beard. The songs were great and as always, Northwest Children’s Theater does such a fantastic job with creative set design, fantastic costume design and engaging choreography. The play really zipped by, song by song. Both kids had some things to say. I reminded Alvah that he could share what he thought parents might want to know.

Alvah (11): 

Great for younger kids (do you hear that pre-teen tone?). Costumes were really good. Like the background (set design). Young kids will like it. Lots of songs. 

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Heywood (9):

Really good, probably especially for young audiences. Liked the music, the art, everything. Liked the characters a lot, enjoyed the scenery, the dog/human and the old guy (his words). You should read the book, too, oh and keep an eye on the background.

Not the most extensive review they’ve given, but the show is about an hour long with no intermission, and is really fun. Heywood and I spent some time studying the Pirate’s Thesaurus, which came in pretty handy. We learned terms like “scallywag” and “hornswaggle.” 

NWCT recommends this show for ages 4 and up, and I can see that. The main character, Jeremy Jacob, is left on the beach and picked up by pirates, so that could be stressful for some kids. He experiences a little bit of homesickness, too, but is always well-cared for by the wiley band of pirates. 

Overall, this is a fantastic play to take the kids to — it will get them singing and maybe spouting some pirate talk. I’d probably recommend elementary age unless your older kid loves musicals. Also, adults, there are plenty of jokes and references aimed directly for you. I took my 9 and 11-year-old and though my 9-year-old was 100% into it, the older one was maybe a little too old for this one. Of course, that won’t be true of all 11-year- olds, but I would say this one was probably a better fit for elementary-aged and younger. 

“How I Became a Pirate” runs Saturdays and Sundays through October 13 with shows at 11 am and 2 pm. Get your tickets now, there are only a few weekends left!