This is a wonderful fall season for family-friendly theater across the city and into the suburbs. Grab some kids–yours or someone else’s–and check out the following top-tier productions now eliciting smiles from all ages on local stages.
Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Drury Lane Theatre
Captivating for kids and engaging enough for an adult date night, this production shines with its sophisticated mix of beautiful puppetry depicting all of the creatures “Under the Sea” as well as lighting and sound that brings us right into the briny deep with Ariel, Sebastian and the gang. Many of the glittery, fin-flapping fish come and go up the aisles in a seafaring homage to The Lion King’s beloved parade of puppets. It’s a feast for the senses even before Sarah Kay lays bare Ariel’s heart as she longs to trade her flippers for legs and live in “The World Above.” Maya Lou Hlava and Michael Earvin Martin more than do justice to Flounder and Sebastian, respectively. And Sawyer Smith (pictured above), who never leaves a scene unstolen or a bit of scenery unchewed, uses those fearsome tentacles to squeeze every drop of delicious evil from Ursula. Through Jan. 12.
Annie, Chicago Theatre
For this musical to fire on all cylinders like a vintage Duesenberg, it needs three things: A magnetic Annie who can belt with the best, a Miss Hannigan with stellar comedic chops and a Sandy who hits his mark and melts audience hearts. This high-octane production scores on all three fronts. In 12-year-old Hazel Vogel we have an Annie who conveys an intelligence and sophistication older than her years along with an irrepressible optimistic spirit and great pipes. In Stefanie Londino we get a Miss Hannigan with excellent comic timing and the ability to make a tasty meal of her big number, “Little Girls.” And in talented mutts Kevin and Cooper (not sure which one was onstage opening night) we enjoy the largest Sandy in memory, but one who knows how to make the audience swoon. A bonus in this production, which travels next to Madison Square Garden: An Oliver Warbucks (Christopher Swan) who feels much more like an authentic tycoon than in typical iterations of this show. When he connects with Annie and realizes that she’s the cure for his loneliness (along with his lovely and whip-smart assistant, Grace Farrell, played with equal parts warmth and efficiency by Julia Nicole Hunter), we believe it. Through Dec. 1.
Dog Man: The Musical, Studebaker Theater
George and Harold, the middle-schoolers who created Captain Underpants, are much more sophisticated these days, so they’ve moved on to creating a new, much more mature comic focusing on the adventures of a police officer who is half dog and half man. The resulting musical, springing from the popular books by Dav Pilkey, is now tickling the funny bones of the kindergarten-and-up set in Chicago as part of its national tour. Full of chaotic energy, goofy jokes and fish who become giant mutant maniacs out to terrorize Dog Man’s beloved city, this show is like a toddler version of an acid trip, in a good way. One quibble with the show about a cop who eats kibble: The only reason to have an intermission is to move more merch. This would work just fine as a one-act. Through Dec. 1.
These winning productions (plus Frozen, which is earning universal raves at The Paramount in Aurora and the thrilling Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Nederlander), come in addition to the just-closed Milo Imagines the World at Chicago Children’s Theatre, easily the most ambitious, most sophisticated, most thought-provoking and most entertaining show I’ve seen there. And we still have the openings of Cinderella at the Marriott Theatre, The Beatrix Potter Holiday Party at CCT and A Christmas Carol with a brand-new Scrooge at the Goodman to look forward to this month. God bless us, every one!
For a full roundup of reviews of these shows, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Brett Beiner
