Lessons from Children's Books

I KNEW something strange was up with all those children’s books I read from childhood but I didn’t quite know how to explain it fully till Phil laid it out for me in this beautiful heartfelt ted-talk-gone-wrong. This show allowed and invited us to be angry at being led astray by the books we were told to trust as children. Phil’s personal stories throughout the show were really successful and engaging grounding moments, reminding me of the deeper truths and impact these stories have on us through the confusing and embarrassing process of growing up. The first book I ever read when I was young was The Giving Tree and I definitely internalized its message of giving without expecting equality back and it was nice to feel validated by this s... full review

L.A. is invited to attend Phillip Reilly's possibly-triumphant return to his elementary school, in the advent of the release of his own book for children, The Good Little Listener. While breathlessly anticipating his imminent status as NYT Best Selling Author, Phillip envelops us in a school assembly setting to explore the problematic lessons of stories from our formative years - as well as the pros and cons of applying those morals broadly, while navigating one's own journey to self-awareness. The audience was seated with coloring books, crayons, and our own red and green flags to wave as we saw fit, and wave them we did - both colors.✨... full review

Phil is the cutest in the whole world and so is this show! His honesty and humor are so unique and engaging. Very proud of my friend and his incredible show. ... full review

Lessons from Children’s Books is a beautifully written hilarious work of theatre. It packs together a huge amount of laughs with a generous amount of pathos to make a memorable one man show that I think anyone can not only enjoy but take a great lesson from.... full review

Phil is absolutely HYSTERICAL! I was laughing out loud line after line. You can tell how much care Phil put into his show, from his research on various problematic children's books and tons of fun interactive elements for the audience to join on the ride, to pinpointing heartfelt, hilarious, (and many times Aw-inducing) personal stories that relate to the lessons he's teaching. Also...HE WROTE AND PUBLISHED HIS OWN CHILDREN'S BOOK?!?!? The fact that we were watching an actual published author on stage (should be on The NY Times list!!!) made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Go see LFCB - Phil is not one to miss!!!!!... full review

Witty, honest, and heartwarming! Phil is an incredibly funny and creative artist. ... full review

I absolutely loved Lessons from Children's Books!... full review

I genuinely loved this show! I had read all those books and never thought of them in that context! It truly makes you think about what the kids are digesting and the messaging we all walked away with and how ingrained it all is in our society and in our collective consciousness. ... full review

This show just changed everything I thought I knew about children’s books! Phil revisits and reassess all those classic and familiar tales, turning them on their heads in witty, unexpected and fun ways, all while adding hilarious personal anecdotes along the way! It’s funny, it’s personal, it’s clever!... full review

Phil was FANTASTIC! He put so much love and care into his jokes, the theme, and it was so fun to be back at a school assembly again. I love how he mixed hilarious subjects matter with poignant and relatable stories. ... full review