Stories That Kids Will Gobble Up

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show – Chicago Children’s Theatre

As the lights dim a gentle voice reminds adults to silence their cell phones; but our host also gives permission to the show’s target audience, ages 2-7, to join in telling the stories, if they’re so moved. It’s a “no shushing production,” much to the delight of both the children and their parents, because it’s so hard to keep quiet when you’re hearing stories that are so familiar you just have to add your own voice. And kids will certainly gobble up the stories they’re about to experience. 

Jonathan Rockefeller, the cofounder of a company called, appropriately, Rockefeller Productions, combines film, theatre, animation, puppetry and television to tell stories. His production company teamed up with popular children’s author, Eric Carle,  to create a 50-minute theatrical presentation for young audiences, based upon four of his picture books. Employing the talents of three young actors, who lovingly narrate and operate the life-size puppets, the play tells Carle’s simple stories in soothing, soft-spoken voices. The production is bathed in colored lighting and a serene musical soundtrack that is the embodiment of Eric Carle’s beloved tales.

Carle’s illustrations don’t try to be realistic. Instead the author uses an impressionistic collage technique to create pictures, employing hand-painted paper, cut and layered to form simple, bright and colorful images. Bridging the gap between home and school, while employing his love for nature, Carle’s unpretentious stories and illustrations speak to younger children in a very unique way. Lessons about animals, colors, days of the week and counting flow throughout his books. This delightful production, sanctioned by the author himself, is never precious or patronizing. Carle’s sparse text is spoken and every character and scenic background is meticulously adapted from his illustrations.

Three gifted actor/puppeteers, Lara Carling, Leslie Ann Sheppard and Micah Figueroa, are directed by Jerrell L. Henderson. They  tirelessly perform the entire show, without a break. The four popular tales they tell include Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Lonely Firefly and, Eric Carles’smost popular story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The stories are told with gentle humor and broad, animated movement. 

The show opens with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, in which the gigantic title character lumbers down the aisle and onto the stage. There he spies a red bird. The cardinal then sees a yellow duck, who catches sight of a blue horse. Eventually we encounter a colorful menagerie of animals, and their  observations continue until the entire cycle begins again. In another story, 10 Little Rubber Ducks find themselves adrift in the ocean where they discover all forms of sea life. The Very Lonely Firefly is born in the nighttime and sets off searching  through the darkness, trying to find other creatures who, like him, gives off light and will become his friends. In the final, titular story, a chubby little caterpillar emerges from a tiny egg, eats healthy foods, grows larger, spins a cocoon and eventually emerges as a beautiful butterfly. 

The show concludes in a gently handled show-and-tell talkback, held in the lobby, part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The Chicago Children’s Theatre provides opportunities to purchase the four Eric Carle books that are seen in the production. Children and their adults may buy caterpillar and butterfly-decorated treats, participate in several related arts & crafts activities, view a collection of preserved butterflies and share in a photo opportunity with the characters. It’s the conclusion of a wonderful, totally immersive artistic experience that brings four popular picture book stories to life and leaves the children, and their parents, both delightfully entertained and informed.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented September 24-October 27 by Chicago Children’s Theatre at The Station, 100 S. Racine, Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 312-374-8835 or by going to www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

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