My kids Mia and Leo were young, just 9 and 6 respectively, when I was the marketing director for a major national tour of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby. Yes, that’s right, I had the perfect target audience/focus group right in my very own house as we launched a 40 week multi-million dollar tour. I just forgot that my son was still an impressionable first-grader until about 6 months into the job.
The story begins in early October, about a month before the show was going to open on the West Coast. Cathy Rigby along with Wendy and the Lost Boys were scheduled to perform on NBC’s “Today” show one Sunday morning. My job, in addition to having arranged everything, was to meet the cast in New York and bring along some “fairy dust.” Since the show wasn’t in production yet, the props department hadn’t ordered the special mylar stuff, so I went to the local arts & crafts store and bought a little tube of glitter and poured some into a leather pouch and figured that would work just fine.
Through a scheduling snafu at home, both Mia and Leo had to come with me to New York while mom was at a business conference. As we were leaving home in Boston Saturday to drive to New York, Leo came running downstairs carrying his Halloween outfit (yes, a Peter Pan costume) and said “We almost forgot this.”
Fast forward to Sunday morning. It’s a 6am call at 30 Rock, so I’m hustling the kids to get dressed at the hotel. Leo’s got his costume on (green tunic over green tights with a pointy hat) and when I ask if he wants to wear something over the outfit, he says “no, I’m fine. But I wish I brought my boots instead of these sneakers.”
OK, I say, “Just put this jacket on. It’s cold out this morning.” All this time, his sophisticated older sister kept rolling her eyes.
Suffice it to say my kids were the hit of the Green Room that morning, polishing off all the fresh fruit and muffins they could handle while I was off negotiating little details between our cast and the “Today” staff. Thank goodness for my friend Laura Matalon, a great press agent who volunteered to wrangle the kids that morning. But things got interesting when we went out on the Plaza for a camera rehearsal. Within moments, a cameraman came over to Leo and said “You sit right here” pointing to a spot just to the edge of the stage.
It should come as no surprise that Leo got more face time on camera that morning than the actress playing Wendy.
When the program ended, Cathy handed me back the little leather pouch with “fairy dust” and we parted with a “see you in a couple of weeks” for the tour opening. I looked at Mia and Leo and said “It’s 9am on Sunday morning in New York. How about if we go back to the hotel, change clothes and then head up to the Central Park Zoo?” Leo said, “I don’t need to change.” Once again, “OK, then you hold on to the fairy dust, since you’ve got a little pocket there in your jacket.”
Up Fifth Avenue we went, and all along the way people commented on my son’s attire. “Ooo, are you Peter Pan” they’d ask. “Yes I am” would be his response and out would come a little fairy dust. It was so sweet I thought I’d go into insulin shock.
When we eventually got back to the hotel to check out, he looked into his pocket and the leather pouch had turned over and all the glitter had poured out. A disappointed look came over his face. “That’s all right,” I said, showing him the tube of art store glitter. “We’ve got more.”
Well, the initial look of disappointment turned to abject horror -- you’d have thought I told him there was no Santa Claus (that would come later). But, thinking quickly I said “Oh Leo. Don’t worry. This isn’t real fairy dust. We’d never use the real stuff for a PR gig.” He relaxed and I knew I had saved my son from a crushing emotional blow.
Six months later, it’s Bring Dad to Class Day in his first grade. Not only do I tell the kids what I do for a living, but I show video clips of Peter Pan (even Leo knows we call it B-roll) , and our appearance on “Today” complete with Leo’s beaming face all over the screen.
When it comes time for Q&A, one girl asks the inevitable “How does Peter Pan fly?” My son, who is well versed in public-relationsspeak says “Happy thoughts and a sprinkle of fairy dust, of course.” Trying to be helpful I add “And, we have some fairy dust at home, right Leo?”
“No Dad. All we have at home is the PR stuff.”
1 comment:
TINKER BELL writes:
If that isn't the cutest damn story EVER... However, the real miracle of the fairy dust is that you were organized enough to pull off all your duties in NYC with 2 kids in tow - AMAZING.
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