[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and PREVIEW OF '4-ISH' (PLAYHOUSE SQUARE CENTER)

[Roy Berko]

Children’s theatre—a wonderful opportunity to educate
the young

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

--coolcleveland.com--

Taking a child to a theatrical production especially
geared at youth is a wonderful way to introduce future
theatre audience members to the wonder s of live
entertainment.

Recently, Playhouse Square Center brought to the Ohio
Theatre the Mermain Theatre of Nova Scotia to perform
three one-act plays based on the stories of Eric
Carle.  The presentation was part of the Rainbow
Babies and Children’s Hospital Discovery Theatre
Series.  The plays included the ‘LITTLE CLOUD,’
‘MIXED-UP CAMELEON’ and ‘THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.’
 

The company uses black lights, puppetry, and a policy
of “no shushing” as they want children to yell out and
interact and explore the stories as the production
proceeds.   The stagings allowed the viewers to see
the hungry caterpillar munch his way to becoming a
beautiful butterfly, the little cloud change shapes
before their eyes, and the mixed-up chameleon teach
the importance of being true to oneself.  In the
process, the kids learned numbers, counting, colors
and the names of various beings.

As has been my custom with children’s theatre, or
plays which are child friendly, I took Ian, my
youngest grandson, who has recently joined the ranks
of “The Kid Reviewers” to be my child’s eyes and ears
regarding the show.  Ian, at the mature age of 8 (or,
as he reminded me, he was actually 7 and 364/365ths),
said he had read the stories when he was “little” but
was still engrossed by the puppetry techniques and
black light effects.  He rejoiced in figuring out the
technique used by the puppeteers to allow the
caterpillar to “eat” its way through apples and
oranges.  He was very interested when, during the
question-and-answer session which followed the
performance, the puppeteers explained how they made
and manipulated the animated creatures.  He discussed
what he had learned all the way home.

Capsule judgment:  Taking children to live theatre is
a wonderful way of aiding young ones to realize the
excitement of live theatre.  Thanks to all of the
theatres in the area who make these opportunities
possible.

4-ISH COMING TO PLAYHOUSE SQUARE CENTER

The next offering in the Rainbow Babies and Children’s
Hospital Discovery Theatre Series is the non-stop
hip-hop, back beat, extreme sports, martial arts
‘4-ISH.’  

Full of speed and the desire to stretch the limits of
human ability, the international performers carry out
spectacular feats.  Participants include the world
champion inline skating champion Sven Boekhurst.  Also
highlighted are kung fu and roller skating dancers
with electrified wheels.  

The 60-minute performances will take place at 7 p.m.
on Friday, February 1 and 11 a.m. on Saturday February
2 in the Allen Theatre.

Teens (ages 14-19) are invited to come to the Idea
Center at Playhouse Square immediately following the
Friday show for a party that will include a DJ
spinning tunes and snacks.  Admission to Teen Night is
free with the purchase of a ticket to the “4-ISH’
performance.

Tickets begin at $10 and can be purchased by calling
216-241-6000 or go on line to www.playhousesquare.com.



Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


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