A Button and a Buddy

Corduroy – Emerald City Theatre

A cuddly little teddy bear, dressed in green corduroy overalls, sits on the shelf in the toy department of Freeman’s Department Store. More than anything, Corduroy wants a friend. He believes that the reason he’s been passed over by shoppers is because he looks shop-worn and his bib tops are missing a button. One afternoon, just before closing time, a sweet little girl named Lisa spies Corduroy on the shelf and falls in love with him. She tries to convince her mother that, more than anything in the world, she wants to buy him. But Mother explains that money’s tight right now; however maybe, if Lisa would take on more of the household chores, she could raise her daughter’s allowance.

Corduroy doesn’t understand it’s a money issue that has kept Lisa from buying him and taking him home. He thinks it’s because his appearance isn’t as perfect as the other toys. So, with the help of two animated clown dolls, Corduroy sets off on a journey throughout the department store to search for a button and, hopefully, to ultimately win over Lisa. To further complicate matters, a diligent Night Watchman, proud of his ability to keep Freeman’s in apple pie order, starts to suspect that something’s wrong. When he begins to notice some toys out of place, merchandise away from its shelves and household appliances running wild, it becomes clear that something mysterious is afoot.

Don Freeman’s 1968 picture book is so popular that it’s never gone out of print. It’s rated by the National Education Association among the Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children. The author followed his book with four sequels, but the original story remains the most popular. This 60-minute production is Barry Kornhauser’s theatrical adaption of Freeman’s book, which premiered a year ago at Minnesota’s Children’s Theatre Company.

Emerald City Theatre has become one of Chicago’s premiere venues for presenting live family plays and musicals. Moreover, the company, whose audiences range from toddlers to teenagers, presents theatrical adaptions of some of the best children’s literary works. Building on this, One Fund, the company’s outreach program, uses donations to increase literacy, by providing free books and admission to Emerald City’s productions to low-resourced Chicago Public School students. This production furthers this goal by motivating kids to read Don Freeman’s picture book classic.

Emerald City Artistic Associate, Jamal Howard, returns to direct this new production. He’s assisted by Amanda Crockett with her skill as a movement and circus director. Because of the abundance of clowning and physical comedy, this production is aimed at children, age 3 and up. Because the play is based upon a picture book, visuals are more important than words. The production at Emerald City is like an episode of The Three Stooges: heavy on slapstick and sparse on dialogue. Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s scenic design fills the Athenaeum Main Stage with adaptable scenery, very much in the style of Freeman’s own illustrations. Cat Wilson and Eric Backus have provided excellent lighting and sound designs, while Jazmin Aurora Medina has costumed her cast with appropriate cuteness.

The ensemble cast is very good. Matt Miles is maniacally driven befuddled buffoon as the Night Watchman. Averis I. Anderson and Kelsey Shipley are equally spirited and full of fun as Clowns 1 and 2. Tia Pinson is an endearing little Lisa, encouraging audiences to pull for her success as she tries to earn enough money to buy her beloved teddy bear. Lisa’s Mother, as portrayed by Michelle Renee Thompson, is lovely. She’s a complex individual, both a nurturing single parent and a serious grownup who’s simply trying to make ends meet. Ms. Thompson is, at once, caring and comedic.

But the real star of this production is, of course, Corduroy. As portrayed by Jean Claudio, this gifted Latino actor, who’s only been in Chicago for two years, gets to demonstrate his accomplished acrobatic talent and circus skills. He creates a lovable, cuddly little character who, like Lisa, the children in the audience absolutely adore. Claudio summersaults, flips, moonwalks and almost defies gravity as the fluffy teddy bear that magically comes to life. Every time the actor clearly enunciates his most oft-spoken line, “Button,” the children in the audience can be heard mimicking him. And, under Jamal Howard’s direction, Mr. Claudio also teaches his youthful audience the repeated ASL sign for the word, “friend.” Hopefully we’ll be seeing more from this talented young man.

Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas             

Presented March 1-April 20 by Emerald City Theatre at the Athenaeum Theatre’s Main Stage, 2936 N. Southport Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available at the box office, by calling 773-935-6875 or by going to www.EmeraldCityTheatre.com or www.AthenaeumTheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.