and make a fish mad?
Who can entertain all...
Kids, Mom AND Dad?
Who's the clever fellow
Who can do ALL of that?
Get ready to say hello...
to the CAT IN THE HAT!
(My apologies to the great Dr. Seuss for that poem, but it was irresistable).
My children and I all love Dr. Seuss (who doesn't?), so we were very excited to be invited to see the theatre production of Cat in the Hat, the latest in a series of Theatre for Young Audiences by Arizona Onstage.
The play, which runs for about 35 minutes, follows the book exactly, so the story is what Cat in the Hat readers remember: Two children (played by Cisiany Oliver and Carrie Silverman) are home alone and bored on a rainy afternoon, when they (and their neurotic goldfish-a puppet played by Eddie Diaz) are suprised by the appearance of a mischievous, clever, slightly destructive Cat (Brian Levario) in a red and white striped hat. Chaos ensues, especially with the arrival of Things 1 & 2 (Shira Maas & Bradford Hill), but in the end the Cat helps to clean everything up before the children's unsuspecting mother returns home.
The play adds to the story with engaging sound effects, fun costuming and clever props. In the performance we saw, there were a few prop malfunctions, but as my 7-year-old noted, "The performers just went on with the show and you couldn't really even tell anything was wrong." My 4-year-old must have agreed, because she simply thought it was funny that the cake wouldn't stay on the Cat's hat! (What prop malfuntion?)
"Funny" appeared to be the consensus among the giggling children who were sitting on the floor in front of the stage. They were completely engaged in the performance, shouting out directions to help the children find Things 1 & 2, encouraging the Cat during his balancing act, and bursting with laughter throughout.
The final reviews from the children I interviewed (my two girls): C, Age 7 said, "I liked it! I liked the sound effects and the Cat's costume and I thought the fish was funny." The favorite parts for 4-year-old E were, "The Thingamajig at the end and the Cat, because he was so silly!" They both also liked taking pictures with the cast after the show, as all children in attendance were invited to do.
Cat in the Hat plays again this weekend, April 26 and 27.
When: Saturday, April 26 at 12:30 PM & 3 PM; Sunday, April 27 at 12:30 PM
Where: Temple of Music & Art, Cabaret Space (upstairs); 330 S. Scott Ave.
Tickets: $15 for children, $20 for adults. Get $5 off of tickets when you purchase between Noon and 6 PM on Friday, April 25th! Purchase tickets at www.arizonaonstage.org
