When
I found out that Julie Andrews was doing a Netflix show educating kids about
theatre, I had to check it out. I knew going into it that it was intended for
children, but I had the feeling that theatre enthusiasts like myself would find
it interesting as well. In Julie’s
Greenroom, Miss Julie and her assistant Gus (played by the talented Giullian
Yao Gioiello) teach some puppet kids (provided by The
Jim Henson Company) about various aspects of theatre and the performing arts
while preparing them to put on a show themselves. The educational segments and
racially diverse puppets were reminiscent of your typical PBS kids’ shows like Sesame Street or The Puzzle Place.
The
puppets include the five kids of the greenroom, who are called Greenies. Hank
is sports-loving piano player in a wheelchair. Fizz is a girl who is always
screwing up, yet wants to be everything when she grows up. Peri is the
know-it-all diva of the group. Spike is a word-loving guy who is destined to
become a writer. Riley is a tomboy tech enthusiast who some viewers might
mistakenly believe is male. There are also two animal puppets: Toby and Hugo.
Toby is Miss Julie’s mischievous dog. Hugo is a duck that performs with the
kids and helps out in miscellaneous ways. Some adults may be annoyed by the
puppets’ various quirks, but children will get a kick out of them.
Each
episode also gives us different guest stars who come to share their performing
arts expertise with the kids. These guest stars help make the show more
interesting for adults. They include Idina Menzel, Chris Colfer, Josh Grobin,
Alec Baldwin, Sara Bareilles, David Hyde Pierce, and more. Some of the
lesser-known guest stars teach them about more specified fields like ballet, playing
musical instruments, or improv. All of them come back for the final episode to
see the kids put on their show. Also in the final episode, we get the one
guest star who does not play herself:
Carol Burnette. She plays Mrs. Edna Brightful, a potential benefactor
for Miss Julie’s theater.
It’s
always delightful to see Julie Andrews onscreen, but these days, it makes me
sad to hear her. Ever since her botched throat surgery in 1997, she’s lost her
beautiful soprano singing voice. She does do a little singing during the songs
of this show, but she has to talk-sing a lot of the time. The only times she
actually sings are moments when the notes are low and simple enough for her to
handle. I also noticed that even her speaking voice has become raspier during
this show. Luckily, Gus and the rest of the cast are talented enough to pick up
the slack for her. Even though her voice isn’t what it used to be, her graceful
presence always adds a sense of elegance to everything she does.
It
seems like most musical kids’ shows don’t write many original songs. Most of
the time, they just write new words to old, familiar melodies. Julie’s Greenroom doesn’t do that. The
musical numbers in this show are all original as far as I can tell. Some of them are
more memorable than others, but I imagine that some of them could grow on me,
especially if they ever release a soundtrack. One particular highlight is the “Mashup
Song,” which Sara Bareilles helps the Greenies write. Part of this song serves
as the show’s theme song. I also love the final number of the
season, “Anything Can Happen in the Theatre.” That song perfectly expresses why
I love theatre so much.
I
think Julie’s Greenroom is a great
way to introduce children to the world of performing arts. If this show had
been on when I was a little kid, I probably would have gotten involved in theatre
a lot sooner. It does a particularly good job of teaching the vocabulary of
theatre. (I bet that a number of parents watching it don’t even know what a
greenroom is.) The show also has some good inclusive messages. For example, it teaches that ballet is for everyone and not just for girls. Some people
might accuse this show of being too cheesy and repetitive, but they need to
keep in mind that it's intended for children. The show may not be perfect,
but it does what it’s supposed to do.
My Rating: between 7/10 and 8/10
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