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<\/a>Sean Tibangin and Becki Park with the caterpillar. Photo courtesy of Rockefeller Productions, as is the one at the top of this page, which features a different cast, but the same puppets.<\/p><\/div>\n
When I first sat down, having never taught the books of\u00a0Eric Carle, (who wrote all the stories featured in this show,) which are geared towards\u00a0 pre-school children, I was a tad concerned that there were so many one-to-three-year-olds in the audience; I thought that perhaps that age range is too young to be audience members. But I\u2019m glad to report that they were all fascinated! They stopped crying and being restless as soon as the first puppet, the Brown Bear, appeared. It was like magic!\u00a0\u00a0The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show<\/em> is actually\u00a0perfect to be a child’s first theater experience.<\/p>\n The production is presented by the company who brought us\u00a0Winnie the Pooh<\/em>\u00a0last year, so I knew it would be a quality one. (You can read all about that one, and the producer, right here: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/theatre-disneys-winnie-the-pooh-the-new-musical-stage-adaptation<\/a>.)<\/p>\n The quartet of actors bring to life four different books by the late prolific children\u2019s author Eric Carle. (The caterpillar is the last\u00a0one, so just know that.) The other three are\u00a0Brown Bear, Brown Bear<\/em>;\u00a010 Little Rubber Ducks<\/em>; and the holiday-themed\u00a0Dream<\/em> Snow<\/em>. Even though it\u2019s January now, I really appreciated seeing one more tiny Christmas tree on the stage in that segment. Mr. X and I once kept ours up for the entire year<\/em>, so it was actually a delight to see one a little longer in this show.<\/p>\n The third story, Dream Snow, helps prolong the holidays a little bit. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n In addition to The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show<\/em> entertaining the kiddies so well, it also teaches them animals, colors, numbers, directions, and even questions and replies. This is a great show to get them started on.<\/p>\n Even for grown-ups on our own, (as my friend and I were, for reviewing purposes,) it was a very relaxing presentation. It\u2019s a pleasure to see an angst-free production for once. And between the minimal dialogue in the show, and the adorable words from the little girl behind me, I had a trio of wonderful personal memories that day.\u00a0 They\u2019re amusing, so I\u2019ll share them with you at the bottom of this review, right after all the show info. [Note: The tales are easier to tell verbally, so I really should have done videos of the stories on my YouTube channel, but you have only two more week-ends to see this show in LA, so I didn’t have time to shoot any vids right now.]<\/p>\n The actors\/puppeteers do their jobs perfectly. And their white tees and overalls are also perfect backdrops for the several dozen incredible, beautiful, and super-colorful puppets. Each of the four stories is done in a way that the audience can easily differentiate them from each other.<\/p>\n (L-R) Leonard J. Moore II, Sean Tibangin, and Becki Park, from the second story in the show. Photo courtesy of Rockefeller Productions.<\/p><\/div>\n The\u00a0caterpillar movement is impressive. Since my own (stuffed) Froggy has been my best friend since my very first month in Los Angeles when I was a teen-ager, the one in this show should have been my favorite of all of them. But it actually was the whale in the second story, even though we saw just a hint of him. (But I did not<\/em> love the picture of the teacher’s face, even though I’m sure it’s directly from the book\u2014I\u00a0never<\/em> looked like that. It did<\/em> amuse me, however.)<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a bit of an audience participation element to it, as in we get to count with the actors, and things like that. At one point, all the kids repeated, \u201cThe caterpillar had a stomach ache,\u201d like it was a game of Telephone. That brought a smile to my face.<\/p>\n The actors, (Paula Macchi, Sean Tibangin, and Becki Park,) giving the audience a close-up look at some of the puppets, on the edge of the stage, at the end of the show. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Actually, the kids I saw it with made me miss teaching. But just a little bit. Let’s not get crazy.<\/p>\n Jeanine, the friend who saw the show with me, is a magician who specializes in children\u2019s parties, complete with puppets, (so she knows this area of entertainment really well,) loved it! She told me she was so glad she saw it.<\/p>\n Adding to the experience is an adorable \u201cactivity\u201d set-up in the lobby of the El Portal. There are tables with puzzles, tiny books, and my fave–crayons and papers with outlines of the caterpillar, butterfly, and bear to color in. You can either go early or stay a bit late to do it. I can\u2019t tell you how much I wanted to color a caterpillar! I had to hold myself back, but I did<\/em> write all the notes on the back of one of the pages. And I\u2019ll color it in this week, with some of my own zillion crayons! I can\u2019t wait!<\/p>\n The activity area in El Portal’s lobby. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n You can purchase VIP tickets, if you like, which give you seats in the first couple of rows, and then, when the show is over, you can meet and take a picture with the caterpillar. I advise, though, that even though literally\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0seat is good at the El Portal, I actually think that sitting a tad further back here is a little better, although lots of people with tiny tots chose to sit in the front row.<\/p>\n And if you didn\u2019t already know, I love the El Portal. It\u2019s a legitimate theater, but sooooo unstuffy and easy.<\/p>\n So, if you have young children, or are just one yourself, I suggest seeing this show before the caterpillar turns into a butterfly and flies off to its next destination!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>