Pamela's First Musical

by Wendy Wasserstein

Pamela has the best birthday even when her glamorous Aunt Louise takes her to see a Broadway musical

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Theatre

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Wendy Wasserstein was an award-winning American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She was the recipient of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I recently read Wendy Wasserstein's biography: Wendy and the Lost Boys: The Uncommon Life of Wendy Wasserstein and noticed this was something she’d written, a book I’d never heard of before. I’m still depressed from that book, and that might have influenced my experience of this book.

My first musical was Bye Bye Birdie when I was eight. I went with my parents on a very, very, very unusually cold summer Sacramento night to a tent (basically outdoors) play. Loved the play! Suffered through the cold. Another mini story. (My first musical record album (yes, I am that old) was the Broadway production of The Sound of Music. Why that wasn’t my first musical is a tragic ;-) story in its own right. The summer I was 10 I lived in Manhattan and got to go to 36 plays, many of them musicals. But Bye Bye Birdie and especially The Sound of Music have particularly dear places in my heart.) I’ve seen many since. I love musicals. So, I had another special interest in this particular book.

This book relates the first musical for the ninth birthday of a girl, who goes with her glamorous aunt. (Wendy Wasserstein dedicated the book to her niece Pamela.) This is the wealthy and “in people” version of a first musical.

I liked the illustrations. They had quite a bit of charm, and the way they showed movement was particularly wonderful. I loved the names of the dogs. I appreciated how all those who make a musical were incorporated into a story. I liked how imagination was sparked in Pamela.

I wasn’t a fan of the musical in the book though.

This is a fine introduction to musicals for kids who might be about to attend their first musical, as long as they don’t expect to also have a fancy lunch and meet everyone associated with the production.

3 ½ stars

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamela’s glamorous aunt Louise is one of those “cool” relatives. She never married, never had children of her own and is always fabulously dressed. She’s more concerned with bringing fun into Pamela’s life instead of always insisting the girl adhere to adult rules.

Pamela is a sweet child who actually wishes for world peace and an end to hunger. However, she also wishes for toys and jewelry. (So she’s not entirely a goody two shoes.) She also dotes on her aunt (who wouldn’t?) who indulges her and treats her like a miniature grownup.

Their outing for Pamela’s ninth birthday includes going to her apartment house for dressing up, dining in a fancy restaurant and seeing a Broadway show. In-jokes abound as Pamela is enraptured by the dazzle that is Broadway and the information of just who is behind the story she sees onstage.

This is a charming picture book featuring one of those unique relationships that sometimes crop up between children and adults and also gives us a glimpse into the hectic, controlled chaos that is show business. Pamela is presented with a host of choices of what she could do when she becomes an adult and her aunt Louise has shown her a world that is without limits.

[Katarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book deserves the subtitle: a child's introduction to all things theatre. The story-line is fairly simple: an aunt takes her niece to see a show on Broadway; but the concepts are big and exciting, and the illustrating just explode with color and energy. Love this book!