‘Tis the season for classic and cute at Chicago Children’s theatre
(from left) Time Brickey and Kay Kron bring four Beatrix Potter tales to life in The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party. Photo credit: Charles Osgood
I don’t remember my first experience seeing live theatre as a child. It must have been a major production, something big enough to tour the small towns in upstate New York, very Nutcracker-esque I’m assuming. But as my daughter enters the age, and finally the era where live theatre is happening again, I hope she will be able to recount the unique theatrical experiences that her city has to offer. First up, for her very first staged foray: Chicago Children’s Theatre’s The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party.
We had read the tales, mostly because they seem to always make everyone very sleepy, so there was an awareness, but as she watched her bedtime story characters come to life by puppet (created by Grace Needlman) and pull crank, what was once anesthetizing was now riveting. The beloved characters were voiced by this years storytellers: Lily Emerson, Charlie Malave, and Felix May. The actors on stage do more than just keep very small children captivated in their seats, they are scene changers, musicians, puppeteers, musical theatre artists, all in a very quick paced 1-hour, decked-out adorable dive into four of Beatrix Potters stories. This year’s stories include: The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tailor of Gloucester, and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Chicago Children’s Theatre has a no-shush policy, something quite liberating for someone of the age where fear of forgetting a beeping thing, or burping, or worse, can plague your mind during a quiet theatrical moment. But as the stories unfold, the audience is brought in from the start. There is no fourth wall. The audience is yet another character, free to dance, sing and react without fears of breaking social code. Fun for the young, freeing for the grown, to let go of the barriers that sometimes get in the way of true reckless joy.
Devised by Will Bishop, Lara Carling, Kay Kron, Grace Needlman and Ray Rehberg, the stories all hold the classic cuteness that you see in the books, but there is a brand new cheekiness revealed under the direction of Will Bishop and Lara Carling. The set and staging seem simple, but just like Potter’s stories there are layers and surprises neatly boxed up. As set pieces shift and turn, characters and new scenes are revealed.
After the show the audience members get the chance to meet their favorite characters and talk to the performers over chocolate milk and cookies. We saw the 9:30 am show, which was the perfect time for peak child behavior, and the show provided snack post show. Nothing beats being able to get in a bit of culture before lunch.
As we left, I asked my daughter what she thought. A question that anyone knows if asked to a toddler will receive an honest, unwatered down answer. Her response, in true Ebert fashion: Two thumbs up. Very high praise from a girl who tasted my dinner and asked, what does two thumbs down mean, it was so bad it made me cry?
The Beatrix Potter Holiday Tea Party is on stage at Chicago Children’s Theatre until Dec. 24. For more information and tickets, visit their website.
