‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ offers fun take on story trio at Rose Theater
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites” is a fun way to spend 60 minutes with or without children.
Omaha’s Rose Theater is hosting the show on weekends through Sept. 21st. Lisa and I had the privilege of being invited to watch a performance.
The show combines three Carle classic stories: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Little Cloud” and “The Mixed-Up Chameleon.”
“Caterpillar” follows the adventures of a very tiny and very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through an amazing variety of foods on his path to becoming a beautiful butterfly.
It follows a week’s worth of eating by the caterpillar. Starting with an apple, Caterpillar spends each day adding an item to his menu. Eventually, he spends the seventh day eating a lot of sweets.
He gets a tummy ache and ends up eating part of a green leaf, which settles his stomach. It eventually leads to Caterpillar creating a cocoon. After a short time, he comes out of the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly.
In the sky, “Little Cloud” playfully transforms himself into various creatures, including a sheep, an airplane, a shark, as well as other shapes. It was fun hearing the children in audience react to each shape change.
“Chameleon” features a character bored with his life, sitting about predictably changing color all day. Following a trip to the zoo, he tries to emulate the beautiful animals he sees, but eventually concludes that there is value in his own unique self.
The show features Jackson Fowlow and Graeme Black Robinson of Mermaid Theatre in Nova Scotia. The theater group started in 1972 and has performed on four continents.
The show features brightly colored puppets with black light effects.
It’s considered a great show to introduce children to theater, said director Jim Morrow. He considers the show a “no-shushing” production.
Eric Carle has written and illustrated more than 70 books for young children, which combine collage artwork with an imaginative approach to learning, and has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites” has performances on Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Interpretation for the hearing impaired will be offered at the 2 p.m. show on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The show is targeted for families with children ages 3 and up. It runs about an hour without an intermission. Tickets are $18 per person, but discount tickets are available through Hy-Vee for $14 each.
For more information on the show and the Rose, please visit its website at www.rosetheater.org.
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Rose Theater for the complimentary show tickets. However, all opinions and views are ours.