KIDS THESE DAYS:

This will be a first: a theater review and recommendation without having seen the performance.

Almost six years ago, our family was in New York for a summer visit. It was a typical visit to the Big Apple: too much to do and not enough time to do it.

Of course, the trip had to include at least one Broadway play. Of the available options, only one was suitable for Mom and Dad and two kids age 10 and 12.

The show turned out to be a complete delight, one that makes you leave the theater believing that everything is really going to be OK.

The kids loved it, and Mom and Dad loved it.

It helped that the play starred a fellow named Mark Linn-Baker, whom you may recall as the character Larry Appleton in the television series, “Perfect Strangers,” which ran from 1986 to 1993.

Linn-Baker was remarkable. I also recall an actor named Daniell Ferland as a supporting member who lit up the stage. You’d probably recognize Ferland’s face if you looked it up.

The point of all this is that this wonderful musical is coming to South Coast Repertory for a couple of weeks starting Friday.

The show is called “A Year with Frog and Toad.” If you have children or grandchildren, or even if you don’t, go see this show. It was nominated for three Tony awards and really is as good as I am claiming.

“Frog and Toad” is a family musical based on the Arnold Lobel stories about two amphibian friends.

In a 2003 review for TheaterMania, Meredith Lee wrote: “With catchy songs, an energetic cast and bright design elements, the musical has all the charm of the books on which it’s based. Just as Lobel’s stories have been happily shared by parents and their children, ‘A Year With Frog and Toad’ is the type of musical that will appeal to theatergoers of all ages.”

The performances are timed to be family-friendly, too. All of the shows are on weekends only. The Friday performances start at 7 p.m., and the Saturday and Sunday shows are in the mornings or afternoons.

Taking a kid along is just a cover. Go see this show, even if you can’t find any children to bring. Do not miss this show. If it is even half as good as the Broadway performances, it will be worth every cent. For more information, visit www.scr.org.

It was one of those small events; one so quick and innocent that I may be the only one in the Estancia High School gym who noticed it.

Last Friday night, Estancia’s varsity basketball team was warming up before a game with Laguna Beach High School. As Bob Knapp walked down the side of the court to find a seat, his son Jacob, a member of the team, interrupted his drills to walk over and give his father a hug.

That was it. They hugged, Bob went to get a seat and Jacob went back to practice.

It’s probably no big deal to them, but to any of the parents in the crowd who may have seen it, especially the dads, that moment was precious.

High school boys don’t give their fathers a lot of hugs in public. It’s not cool, I guess. So it was nice to see at least one teenager just didn’t care whether it’s cool — it’s just something he wanted to do.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to [email protected].