I had another awesome theater experience today with my toddler. We saw THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR at the 47th Street Theater in New York City this morning. My 21 month old daughter was entranced for the full hour. The moment the show ended, she asked for more. Thankfully some of the puppets came out for a photo op, and she was appeased.
Photo taken during the post-show photo opp at THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.
The production brought to life four of Eric Carle’s books. The first was THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE. Next came MISTER SEAHORSE, followed by THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY. The show ended with THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.
I had learned a couple of months ago that these four stories would be part of the production. We already owned two of the books (CATERPILLAR and SEAHORSE), and I bought the other two last month to help my daughter get ready for the show. I’m a theater teacher, and I firmly believe that children enjoy theater best when they are fully prepared for the experience. That said, I think the performance would have been completely accessible and enjoyable had we not read the books together, although I did hear one girl repeatedly saying “caterpillar” at the very beginning of the show. My guess is, she wasn’t aware that other stories would be told. But she settled down within a minute, and seemed to enjoy the show as well, as did all of the children in the audience.
One of the magical photos. Photo taken during post-show photo op.
Back in February, I had two theater experiences with my child—one was fantastic (HANDA’S SURPRISE at New Victory Theater), and one, not so much (SESAME STREET LIVE.) THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was successful for a number of reasons: the pacing was developmentally appropriate, the performers engaged the audience, and the puppets were magical.
Not only was today entertaining, but I could practically feel my toddler’s brain grown neurons during the production. When we got home, she started to “read” THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE aloud, imitating the inflections of the actor. Later on, she recited a list of all the items that the very hungry caterpillar ate through.
My only issue with today’s performance was that the theater itself wasn’t particularly child friendly with a small lobby and no changing table in the bathroom. But otherwise, I would absolutely take my child to THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR again.
I love sharing my love of theater with my daughter. I wish I lived in a world where theater like this was available to every child.
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