The Gingerbread Kid

The Gingerbread Kid at Coterie Theatre

What do you do when you've stolen every cookie, licked every spoon, and the grown-ups are closing in? If you're Allspice—the magical child of a baking couple—you run. This pop musical at the Coterie Theatre follows one candy-fueled escape that spirals into something far bigger than a kid trying to dodge bedtime consequences.

Allspice's getaway doesn't stay simple for long. Out in the wider world, familiar faces from completely different stories start appearing: Henny Penny and her worried gang, Little Boy Blue, a hungry fox, and Foofinella, better known as Little Bunny Foo Foo. These aren't neat cameos. They're characters pulled into the same adventure, their separate tales crashing together as Allspice tries to stay one step ahead.

Jodi Marr's music and Abe Reybold's book and lyrics turn the chaos into a pop musical built for families. At roughly sixty minutes, The Gingerbread Kid moves quickly without rushing, giving Kansas City audiences a story that works for restless younger theatergoers and the adults who bring them. The all-ages format means the show respects short attention spans while keeping the stakes real—Allspice can't outrun trouble forever, and every character collision raises the question of whether running was the right choice at all.

Grab tickets to the Coterie Theatre and watch what happens when one sweet-toothed kid meets a storybook full of trouble.