The Caterpillar Play

A few weeks ago I found an advertisement for the Children's Theater Series in Pittsburgh and saw they were having "An Eric Carle Favorites" collection at the Byham Theater. I checked the details and the show was an hour long and tickets were $9.50, so we decided it was a PERFECT introduction to theater for the kiddos. We been interested in a few other shows in town, but tickets are usually more than $20 a piece, and that's a bit steep for preschoolers! But, Eric Carle was just our style!

So, Sunday morning we got all spiffy for our adventure. Daddy and I had a music teacher in high school who instilled a "You must DRESS for the theater" attitude. And besides, I was HOPING for a better family portrait than I got at Easter! I admit to bribing my children to take this picture. I am not proud. But I DO like the picture. And they liked their rainbow goldfish treats in the car.

(See the cute accessorizing Gillian did? I picked the dress (with her approval). She picked her long pink beads and pink bead bracelet to go with it. She ended up looking very Flapper-ish. Super cute. I think this girl is going to be FAR more fashionable than I.)

We got to the theater a little later than anticipated. Not LATE, but just not early. So we ended up in the balcony, and that ended up being fine. We could see everything anyway. Daddy took this cute shot of us waiting excitedly!


The show was very nice. It was all puppets done in glow paint and black light with music and narration of "The Very Hungary Caterpillar, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," and "Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me." We had never read that last one, so it was a surprise! Caterpillar was a HIT. Our favorite part was when the caterpillar would boot his leftover food off stage with his bum. Very funny. Brown Bear was very slow paced; I'm assuming it had something to do with the two puppeteers needing time. In the middle of it, Gillian looked up at me and whispered (very dramatically), "I am DONE with this THEATER." Fortunately, she decided to hang in there until the end.

After the show, we stayed for a few extra minutes while the puppeteers did a little Q&A. Daddy and I found it interesting to see how they did everything. Not so entertaining to the little people though. So, we headed out for a nice lunch and then a breezy walk over the Roberto Clemente Bridge. We had such a nice day. The kids were so good and interested in everything. We already have another theater adventure lined up for May!