Dear Kid,

If you find yourself in New York on Friday, Don’t Make Plans. Lyle Cogen, famous for songs such as P-I-Z-Z-A and Floppy Socks, has an off Broadway production of her play, “Sticks and Stones”. Which is Pretty Darn Cool if you ask me. Actually, it’s pretty darn cool even if you don’t ask me.

As you know, Aunt Lyle wrote and stars in the musical “Sticks and Stones”. The one-woman show tells the story of four adolescents and two adults and how they cope with the critical impact of bullying. “Sticks and Stones” is a story about multiple perspectives — as the characters’ worlds collide, the play captures the authenticity of adolescent crisis and peer pressure and explores the power of the not-so-innocent bystander. (I didn’t write that sentence. But since it sums the story up perfectly, I decided to leave it as is.)

The show will be at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York City. Prices are $18, available at the Theatre Row Box Office and online through Telecharge. You may also call Telecharge at 212-239-6200.

Lyle has been performing the show for over four years (which—as she says—is a long road to get back to NYC) mostly for schools audiences.

Given some of the things I’ve heard about recently, I wish there was some way to make programs like “Sticks and Stones” mandatory in schools. You guys had the advantage of having been taught all sorts of anti-bullying programs in school, and I can see from the way some of your peers are behaving that it had a real impact. I had the distinct displeasure recently of talking to teen who is in a school district that has not addressed the bullying problem. Some of the things this child deals with and sees makes my stomach hurt.

So while I’m hoping you don’t magically land in The City on Friday (what with the whole needing-to-go-to-class thing), I hope that anyone who is in the area will go see the show.

And that you continue to stand up to anyone you see exhibiting bully-like behavior.

Love, Mom