In case anyone wonders about the ability of live theater to create an almost mystical connection with an audience, I invite you to "Luvabye Dragon."

Jeff Frank's adaptation of the children’s book by Barbara Joosse is an hour-long production and part of the First Steps program at First Stage. First Steps is for the smallest theatergoers among us, and the productions are designed to be visually stimulating along with a story that the young kids can easily understand.

"Dragon" opened Saturday, and the afternoon show was an eye-popping experience, both for the play and for the audience. This was a black box theater filled with parents and children, 2 and 3 and 4 years old. They were sitting on chairs and on risers.

Anybody who’s ever had a child that age knows full well how difficult – impossible – it is to keep a kid from fidgeting and getting to the point where you are in serious debate about whether to leave temple or the funeral or the restaurant or someplace else.

Not here.

With a story of a little girl who wants to have a real dragon for a friend, these kids sat, eyes focused on the wonderful spectacular before them. Nobody got up to run around. Nobody punched their brother or sister. Nobody whined for something to eat or drink.

It served as a testimony to the continual magic that First Stage – and its artistic director Frank, who also directed this production – performs on stages in front of thousands and thousands of families.

From the moment that one of my favorite actors, the effervescent Chase Stoeger, appeared on stage as the Troubador, this crowd was in his hand. He smiled, teased and sang ditties that moved the story along but also was a riveting target for these kids.

The focus of this production is Girl, played in a universally outstanding Island Cast by Eloise Field, who has both the sparkle on stage and a lovely and dainty singing voice.

The Girl lives in a home with parents who have a phobia over just about anything. She can’t eat what she wants, including her own birthday cake. She can’t have friends over, and she can’t go outside.

Her birthday wish is for a real dragon, but her parents drive her disappointment even deeper by giving her a toy stuffed dragon as a present. But as good stories must do, the magic happens; a real dragon appears, and they become friends, setting off on an adventure that takes Girl outside to play for the first time in her life.

The little things in this play are part of the wondrous web woven for these children.

The set and puppet designs of Brandon Kirkham are almost magic. With some of the puppets hidden behind three screens and seen only in shadow, the actions enhance what the actors on the stage are saying. It’s an ingenious bit of staging that handles some potentially difficult narration with ease.

Jeff Schaetzke, music director for the show, continues to prove on a continual basis that he knows better than almost anybody in this town how to arrange a piece of music for maximum impact without even a tiny bit of overbearing singing. Music for you children can be a tricky business, but he has the secret.

And something must also be said, again, about Frank who has been at First Stage for 20 years, 13 of them as artistic director. His commitment to big time excellent theater for entire families is palpable. Have a conversation with him and he lights up talking about what’s going on now and what he hopes will happen in the future. Milwaukee is a much richer place for his dedication, skill and the marvelous collection of artists he has helped to build.

Being the parent of a small child is a puzzling experience where you often find yourself questioning what you are doing. There are no road maps to all a parent should do.

But one thing is clear. If you are interesting in giving your child a gift that last a lifetime, go to First Steps and open up the world of live theater to them.

"Lovabye Dragon" runs through Feb. 19 and information on tickets and showtimes is available here.

Production credits: Director, Jeff Frank; Music Director, Jeff Schaetzke; Choreographer, Gianna Blazquez; Scenic and Puppet Designer, Brandon Kirkham; Costume Designer, Daryl Harris; Lighting Designer, Nick Belley; Sound Designer, Matt whitmore; Stage Manager, Jeremy Phillips; Assistant Stage Manager, Marissa Ashlyn Raby.