[NEohioPAL]Berko review: CLIFFORD, THE BIG RED DOG (PHSquare)

[Roy Berko]

Ian comments on ‘CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG’


One of the segments of theatre that receives little
critical attention is children’s theatre.  So, in
order to help children’s theatre get a voice, I took
my youngest grandson, Ian Berko to see the Play House
Square sponsored production ‘CLIFFORD, THE BIG RED
DOG.’   His quick summary, “I liked the dancing.”  To
be honest, he didn’t get caught up in the clapping,
singing and invitation to dance with the characters. 
Maybe at five and-a-half he was too old for what he
termed, “little kid’s stuff.”  I think, however, that
from an adult perspective, the huge size of the Palace
Theatre and the character’s being on stage many yards
away, instead of up close like on TV, made for a
breach of involvement.

The show does an excellent job of teaching lessons
such as “let’s all work together” and “let’s work in
harmony to solve problems,” which Ian recognized and
commented on when I asked him what the story was
about.

Ian did enjoy turning his Clifford flashlight on and
off, as did all the kids who had conned their parents
and grandparents into buying them star-wands and
spinning electric flashers.  In addition, the popcorn,
sodas, candy and large pretzels being sold were all
excitement inducers.  

I wish the Palace would not allow the kids to bring
food into the theatre.  By the end of the production
the floor was littered with mess and stickiness.  Many
of the beautiful seats had soda poured on them.  This
mass display of littering  is not a good lesson for
the kids to see or participate in.   And, it was not a
good way to treat a beautiful and expensive theatre.

In the future I plan to go to other venues to see
their young people and children’s productions which
will be reviewed by not only Ian, but Alex and Noah,
his older brothers.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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