This past Saturday I caught Minimón, which runs through Sunday, November 23 at the New 42nd Street Studios just down the block from the main New Vic theater. The setting is much less formal and tots are encouraged to get their sillies out by running around the large space before showtime. As always with the New Vic's shows for very young theatergoers, there were interactive pre-show activities (a large and developmentally appropriate I Spy game board supervised by a staffer) and a reasonably priced snack bar with toddler faves like Goldfish and juice boxes.

Instead of traditional seats, families plop down on comfy floor pillows and are expressly asked not to shush the kids. At these special baby and toddler shows, the performers want to hear their audience, a relief for parents with squirmy or squealy children.

Set in a fantastical bedroom, Minimón features few words and instead captivates very young kids with playful visuals as every drawer, wardrobe door and toy box reveals whimsical surprises, and colorful projections light up the set. After the show, youngsters are invited to play with the performers, and we enjoyed an impromptu dance party that my kids are still talking (more accurately, babbling) about.

If you can't make Minimón, the New Vic has two other shows for tots this season: Babble (March 18-Sunday, March 29, 2015) a multisensory experience for ages 4 to 18 months where families enter a "bubble" featuring projected seascapes and aquatic creatures. Finally, Paper Planet (May 30-Sunday, June 7, 2015) invites children ages 2 and up to explore and enhance an interactive jungle full of cardboard trees and paper flowers. Tickets range from $15 to $20, depending on the production.

For more information on the New Victory Theater and to buy tickets to any of these shows, visit the website. If you order all three shows at once, you automatically become a member, which saves you up to 35% on tickets.

This post is sponsored by the New Victory Theater but the opinions expressed are solely those of the author.