On & Off Broadway

Children’s Theater

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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.


Closer to home, several of the local colleges offer children’s shows, often with traveling companies. At Madison Theater at Molloy College, Clifford The Big Red Dog came to visit. Based on the popular series of books, the show introduces Emily Elizabeth who adopts a runt puppy only to have him grow up to be a giant dog. Emily Elizabeth and her family move out of the city where she and Clifford make friends. The “real people” sing a lot in the show, but the children in the audience seemed more interested in Clifford, especially when he “spoke” rather than barked.

Made longer by an unnecessary intermission (bathroom and souvenir break) most of the kids enjoyed the show but ours got upset with the cranky old neighbor who started a petition to get rid of Clifford. However, even she was mollified when she got a plush Clifford dog after the show.

Introduce your children to theater when they are young. Find bright, colorful and familiar shows and you will create fans for life.