AUBURN - It is hard enough to sing and dance at the same time. Try singing and juggling, or singing, dancing and carrying on a puppet show.
Tom Knight did all of those Sunday afternoon at the Auburn Public Theater.
Knight, a songwriter from Ithaca, performed his signature style of children's songs together with loads of props and puppet routines.
The theater's back stage was filled with about 150 children and families who wiggled and giggled along with tunes about reading, recycling and other educational themes.
Sunday's performance was the first show at the Auburn Public Theater for Knight, who has been playing around the region and the rest of the country for more than 20 years. Knight said he enjoyed both the venue and the crowd, which he figured was a balanced mix of people who had and had not seen him before.
He can always tell there are first-timers in the audience when adults are laughing at the jokes along with the children, he said.
“The jokes aren't as funny the third or fourth time around for the parents,” Knight said.
Knight, who was assisted by Kellie Ryan, throughout the set, played songs that touched on a variety of topics and musical styles. During a rock 'n' roll tune about the solar system, he sported rotating head gear fitted with the sun and each planet. His final tune, “Wiggle Worm,” was a funky, dance-along number with plenty of cues for hand claps and air guitar solos.
Kathleen Spires, of Fair Haven, brought her 2-year-old son, Heath, after she heard about Knight from a family member. Her favorite song of the day was “Library Boogie,” a jazzy blues number referencing “Goodnight Moon,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and other classic children books.
“It was great how the kids reacted to all those books,” Spires said. “It is good to know that they are reading.”
Carey Eidel, the theater's managing director, said audiences should be able to expect the venue to offer a type of subscription series for family-friendly shows in the future.
“This is what it is all about,” Eidel said.
After the show, Knight said his goal for every concert is to provide the “rich experience” of singing, dancing and watching a puppet show for both young and old in the audience.
“I feel like I am spreading a little bit of life and color and joy,” Knight said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
For more information about Tom Knight, or to see upcoming performance dates, visit www.tomknight.com.
Knight, a songwriter from Ithaca, performed his signature style of children's songs together with loads of props and puppet routines.
The theater's back stage was filled with about 150 children and families who wiggled and giggled along with tunes about reading, recycling and other educational themes.
Sunday's performance was the first show at the Auburn Public Theater for Knight, who has been playing around the region and the rest of the country for more than 20 years. Knight said he enjoyed both the venue and the crowd, which he figured was a balanced mix of people who had and had not seen him before.
He can always tell there are first-timers in the audience when adults are laughing at the jokes along with the children, he said.
“The jokes aren't as funny the third or fourth time around for the parents,” Knight said.
Knight, who was assisted by Kellie Ryan, throughout the set, played songs that touched on a variety of topics and musical styles. During a rock 'n' roll tune about the solar system, he sported rotating head gear fitted with the sun and each planet. His final tune, “Wiggle Worm,” was a funky, dance-along number with plenty of cues for hand claps and air guitar solos.
Kathleen Spires, of Fair Haven, brought her 2-year-old son, Heath, after she heard about Knight from a family member. Her favorite song of the day was “Library Boogie,” a jazzy blues number referencing “Goodnight Moon,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and other classic children books.
“It was great how the kids reacted to all those books,” Spires said. “It is good to know that they are reading.”
Carey Eidel, the theater's managing director, said audiences should be able to expect the venue to offer a type of subscription series for family-friendly shows in the future.
“This is what it is all about,” Eidel said.
After the show, Knight said his goal for every concert is to provide the “rich experience” of singing, dancing and watching a puppet show for both young and old in the audience.
“I feel like I am spreading a little bit of life and color and joy,” Knight said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
For more information about Tom Knight, or to see upcoming performance dates, visit www.tomknight.com.
