Elana and I spent this evening in Manhattan. We had a bite to eat and then got to see the new Off-Broadway show Rated P for Parenthood. Rated P, was written by Sandy Rustin, made its initial debut at the South Orange Performing Arts Center just down the street from my synagogue. (Disclosure: I know Sandy and she is a fantastic writer and comedian.) It has now moved to its new home at the WestSide Theater and is getting rave reviews. The reason for the rave reviews is quite simply the fact that it… is… awesome!
The hour and a half show takes you through the life-cycle from pregnancy to birth to setting your kids off for college. It’s funny, touching, and a great way to spend an evening.
This post is not just a plug for Rated P, however. You see, punctuated throughout the show are SMS conversations sent from one oversized phone to another. (In one particularly amusing piece, sexting turns ugly when it is the child, not the parent on the receiving end of the invitation.) And in each texting bit there is a familiar touchscreen device, with a few even more familiar icons and even MORE familiar pinging sounds each time a message was sent or received.
The touchscreen screamed iPhone!! The icons did too. But you didn’t need to see the screen or the icons, or be an English-speaker to know that the phone being used were iPhones because the sounds when messages were exchanged SCREAMED iPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhoneiPhone
And what stuck me once I stopped laughing was the fact that the iPhone’s screen, icons and sounds have become iconic. Iconic… and the device isn’t even five years old! THAT is pretty amazing.
Oh, and by the way, if you happen to be in New York, the show is worth seeing because it’s hilarious. Yes, in part this post has been a shameless plug for the show because it’s really good!