We had really good seats. Section A, Row 7, seats 8 & 9. I could have gotten us the "prime" seats for more money, but after sitting down, I realized that we were in a great spot. I thought that (based on commercials for the show) that the kids would get to sing and dance in front of the stage, which was the only reason I had even wanted to be on the floor. Come to find out, they could only do that prior to the show and at intermission. So that extra money I could've spent would have been a waste. The show was far from sold out, but there were enough children there screaming to give an average person a headache. Of course, one of the loudest ones sat right behind me...go figure!
At first, I thought the show looked a little cheap. Then I had to step back and think about it. They travel this thing all over the country, only staying at each venue about 2 days. The set obviously has to be easy to put up and take down. Also, these kids didn't notice. They were so excited to see the characters, that the set could have been made of duct tape and paper bags and they still would have had fun.
Ella did really great. She interacted with the show and was standing in front of her chair marching to Dragon Mountain and singing along with the Grabbing Goblin. She got excited when the Flighty Fairy used her magic wand to send bubbles out into the audience. She held up her cardboard shield (given to her at the entrance) and shouted, "We're knights, that's right!" with all the other kids.
On the way home she held her magic light-up wand that I bought for her, and was asleep before we got out of Urbana. When we got home, I put her into her bed and she woke for a moment and said, "Backyardigans, Live!" and closed her eyes.
I don't know if the show was worth the $35 per ticket, but we had a really good Mommy/Daughter evening out. So maybe it was priceless?
