It is rare that a show takes to heart the saying that a performance is incomplete without its audience. In Panto, it’s gospel. You might say “No, it isn’t!” But I answer, “Oh, yes it is!”
The call and response in the first paragraph shows one of the ways the audience joins a panto show as one of the players. At the Fremont Players opening of Puss in Boots, much of the audience, adult and child, came ready and knew what to expect. In England, over the Christmas holiday season you have your pick of dozens of panto productions in towns and cities. Here in Seattle your choice is easy—Puss in Boots.
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