Imaginations run wild with The Platt Brothers

Roaring dinosaurs, burning hillsides, and disappearing chickens are all part of the wacky world of The Platt Brothers. One of the family offerings at Welk Resorts Theatre, The Platt Brothers provides a fast-paced, rollicking afternoon of entertainment capable of capturing and holding the shortest of attention spans.

The brothers, (Cy, Cheetah and Boone), have wild imaginations that are put to good use in their show, which includes comedy, dance, acrobatics, and music of all kinds in the retelling of stories from their childhood. The brothers tell of growing up in Marin County in Northern California, without a television.

They entertained themselves outside with “awesome adventures” (according to Cy) that they now recreate on stage with a few props and a lot of creativity.

Their stories include the hunt for a raccoon suspected of stealing the family’s chickens, how Cheetah got his name, why Cy goes by Cy instead of Cyril, and a cautionary tale about what happened when Cheetah and Boone played with fire.

They perform a lot of physical comedy, sometimes slapstick, almost always humorous. The brothers are good at pantomiming with taped sound effects, especially in one skit in which Cy curls up to become a bagpipe on Cheetah’s lap while all three are wearing homemade kilts.

At one point, Boone and Cheetah transform themselves, without props, into dinosaurs and venture into the audience. The theatre is dark for most of the show so preschoolers might be scared by the ‘dinosaurs’ but the older children were thrilled by their appearance.

Adding to their trip down memory lane, a slideshow of family photos was shown on monitors, one on each side of the stage, while the brothers changed clothes. Later in the show, home movies of their early performances in school plays were also shown, adding to the family atmosphere of their performance.

Although there was some arguing, which I thought a little too loud, and a few of the skits went on a little too long, the show on the whole was very entertaining and most suitable for children. At least half the audience, which was made up of all ages, gave the brothers a standing ovation at the end of their show.

The Platt Brothers can be seen at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 28. To order tickets, call (888) 802-7469 or visit welktheatersandiego.com. Welk Resorts Theatre is located at 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr., Escondido.

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