Leo Lionni’s Frederick, A New Musical by Chicago Children’s Theater

Leo Lionni’s Frederick, A New Musical by Chicago Children’s Theater

Reviewd By Parker Cunningham, 7

Nettelhorst School, Room 116, Ms. Levinsky

I gave it 25 stars because the set design and singing was great.  

My favorite character was Frederick because he was funny and the main character.  
It was about teamwork. 

My favorite part was the machine because it was funny and did the boogie dance.

I love musicals. This play was a musical.

I think all kids should go. I mean the book won a Caldecott award. 

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Leo Lionni's Frederick will play through November 16, 2014 

at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. 

While other mice are gathering food for the winter, Frederick daydreams the summer away. When dreary weather comes, it is Frederick who has stored up something special for the long cold winter. The classic, much-loved early reading book celebrates the idea that there is a place for all of us in this world. 

This production is ideal for ages 3 and up. 

Single tickets are on sale now, starting at $28. Or, cost-conscious, theater-loving families should entertain purchasing a Membership Pass to save up to 20 percent on single tickets to Chicago Children's Theatre's 2014-15, three-play season, which also boasts a remount of CCT's 2008 smash hit, The Selfish Giant by Blair Thomas and Michael Smith (January 23-February 22, 2015) and a second world premiere musical, Wonderland, Alice's Rock & Roll Adventure, co-created by Michael Mahler and Rachel Rockwell (April 22-May 24, 2015).

Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call (872) 222-9555 to purchase tickets or CCT membership passes. For information on deeply discounted group rates for schools, playgroups, birthday parties and scouting groups, email GroupSales@chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call (773) 227-0180 x 13.

Fatherhood Plays Major Role In Goodman Theatre's Smokefall

Review by Robert E. Croston,
Interim Principal at Jenner Elementary

Smokefall is Noah Haidle’s, playwright, surrealist perspective on the power of fatherhood. In a play where in utero fetus explore existentialism and the doctrine of “original sin,” there is potential for misunderstanding.  However, once the characters begin to reveal their motivating forces, one realizes how powerful fathers are to intergenerational stability. The absence and abandonment of the father turned upside down the family for three generations. Although love can be lost in a lifetime, the love of a father or spouse, Haidle challenges us “to love anyway. All love ends by death or by someone falling out of love.” Like all great experiences in life, love must come to an end. A sobering idea for anyone considering sharing her love with another. The trick, according to the Colonel, is to hold on to love while it lasts because it is not supposed to last forever. “Be grateful [because love] won’t come again.” This is the 21 century echo of Alfred Lord Tennyson “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”.  The storytelling is mesmerizing in a Toni Morrison Beloved kind of way. The set design is breathtaking and serves as an additional cast member to visually capture the power of a broken home. I highly recommend this play to adults seeking to explore their personal struggles with identity as it relates to their childhood. I am sure you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait to see it again. 

(L to R) Mike Nussbaum (Colonel) and Catherine Combs (Beauty)

(L to R) Eric Slater (Fetus 1) and Guy Massey (Fetus 2)

Mike Nussbaum (Colonel), Eric Slater (Daniel) and Katherine Keberlein (Violet)