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The Flying Latke

By Arthur Yorinks; Directed by Ben Kamine

BOTTOM LINE: A children's holiday show that's festive, fun, and enjoyable for adults and kids alike.

Add this to your list of things to do with the kids this holiday season. Don't have kids? Borrow some. Or allow yourself the privilege of a delightfully silly late-morning show.

The Flying Latke is a sweet and happy holiday tale, adapted from playwright Arthur Yorinks's children's book, about a family that always bickers and how they learn to get along. At his grandmothers behest, Danny Silverstein regales the crowd with a story about his typical Jewish family (with hysterically appropriate caricatures), and an amazing incident involving a food fight and an airborne latke that refused to come down, inciting a UFO scare.

Performed by The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea, The Flying Latke is ageless entertainment. The story itself is geared toward kids, and big physical humor makes it appropriate for all little ones, but The Bats tend to the adults in the audience, too. The adept comedians are able to infuse enough self-awareness into their performances to approach the edge of children's play parody, while still staying true to the play's intended viewers. Cast members Yoni Ben-Yehuda, Lydian Blossom, Tom Carman, Jimmy Dailey, Katherine Folk-Sullivan, Jessica Frey, Grant Harrison, Adam Lebowitz-Lockard, Rachel Lin, Evan Maltby, Tedra Millan, Ivano Pulito, Elly Smokler all do their best "New York Jew" and for those in the audience with Jewish families, it's likely you'll recognize your own relatives up on stage.

At only 30 minutes long, The Flying Latke is not a lengthy commitment. And although it's about a Jewish family and the holidays as they relate to Hanukkah, it's message is really more of the life lesson variety. You'd be wise to celebrate the season at The Flea, by introducing your kids to a joyful tale that doesn't dilute its performative qualities or talk down to its petite audience.

(The Flying Latke plays at The Flea Theatre, 41 White Street, through December 16, 2012. Performances are Saturdays and Sundays at 11am. Tickets are $15. To purchase tickets visit ovationtix.com. For more show info visit theflea.org.)