Some enchanted evening it was at Gas Works Park Friday night as hundreds — perhaps thousands — filled the big hill facing Lake Union to enjoy an annual, free tribute to the new bella luna: “Lullaby Moon.”
Despite clouds covering up that moon, the hill lit up, in this imaginative production created by Lucia Neare and shared with families who brought kids, dogs and sleeping blankets to see the show. Light poured from spotlights cast upon performers costumed as owls, horses, cats, rabbits and clocks.
Time ticked by quickly as they and other dancers dressed in top coats and top hats, and horn musicians in white pajamas, treated the audience to song and dance numbers such as “Fly Me to the Moon,” and “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” set amidst a white dreamscape.
The production made full use of the picturesque backdrop of Lake Union with floating beds, sailboats and a riverboat bringing to shore the costumed creatures. People in the audience waved to the Ducks tours going by, as well as boats that stuck around to watch. They sang along with “That’s Amore.”
Performers sauntered in and out of the crowd, curtsying and dancing during the numbers and in-between. They also gave away white paper windmills to eager children, who didn’t need to blow for them to spin.
When you wish upon a star, this is the kind of production you get, one that sticks with kids (and adults) long after the evening is over, the stuff of sweet dreams. Sleep tight, and good night.