Take them early and often. That’s how to get kids to love theater. It’s even better when the shows are based on familiar children’s stories.
In NYC, at the intimate 47th Street Theater, four colorful, simple Eric Carle stories come to life through puppets and paintings. Billed as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the show also includes The Lonely Firefly, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mr. Seahorse. With 75 puppets, some bigger than the kids in the audience and four dancer-performers, the stories come to life. For the entire hour the kids are transfixed, eyes agape.
Besides being colorful and simple, Carle’s stories often have simple lessons about life. In The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, the audience learns it’s okay to be creative. In Mr. Seahorse, the seahorse dad carries his mate’s eggs, meeting other fish daddies who are also caring for their eggs. Having babies is a shared responsibility. The Lonely Firefly searches for other fireflies. Along the way, he finds a flashlight, candlelight and headlights and even fireworks until finally he finds other fireflies. The show ends with the most famous piece, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a lesson in counting as well as a tale of metamorphosis. The caterpillar eats until finally he morphs into a beautiful butterfly. The show is a wonderful introduction to theater.