When I saw That Parenting Musical in 2024, the first thing that stood out was the scale. The theater was intimate, the cast was small, and the show leaned on quick character changes and recognizable parenting moments rather than Broadway-size spectacle.
Small Cast, Many Characters
With only six performers taking on more than a dozen roles, the production moves quickly. The actors shift between parents, doctors, children and other familiar figures from early family life without needing elaborate set changes.
Max Crumm brought an easy comic energy, while McKenna Ogrodnik handled the fast transitions with enough confidence that the constant role-switching became part of the joke rather than a distraction.
Songs About the Chaos of Parenthood
The show does not follow a traditional plot so much as build a series of musical snapshots around parenting. Songs including “Toddler Travel Travesty,” “Second Child Blues,” and “Dad Anthem: Cargo Shorts” take very specific frustrations and turn them into broad comedy.
That specificity is what makes the material work. The jokes land because they come from situations parents already recognize rather than from generic “kids are crazy” punchlines.
Music and Pacing
The score jumps between rock, ballads and lighter comic numbers, giving the show enough variety to keep the vignettes from blending together. The band supports those changes without overpowering the performers.
The quick shifts in musical style also mirror the show’s subject matter: parenting can go from quiet to chaotic in seconds, and the production uses that rhythm to its advantage.
Who Will Enjoy That Parenting Musical?
This is most likely to connect with people currently raising kids or anyone close enough to parenthood to recognize the references immediately. The humor around travel, sleep deprivation, clothes, tantrums and second-child realities is much funnier when you have lived some version of it.
That said, the show is not built only for new parents. The larger theme is the shared absurdity of family life, and that gives it enough range to work as a date night or parents’ night out.
That Parenting Musical Review Verdict
I found the production warm, funny and refreshingly self-aware. Jen Wineman’s direction keeps the small stage active, and the show understands that parenthood is funny precisely because it can be exhausting and meaningful at the same time.
We attended this production in 2024; casts, venues, performance dates and ticket availability can change. For another recent stage review, see our Chasing Grace musical review.
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