It was about 2 bears named Brother Bear and Sister Bear (performed by Jonah Winston and Allyce Torres) living their lives throughout the seasons. Each kid was given a bag filled with objects that they would take out at different moments during the play to interact with the characters and to better understand the season.
The bears had us kids on our feet from the very beginning because Sister Bear needed help finding brother bear who was hiding under a giant pile of small blankets and she was too scared to look all by herself. And once she discovered Brother Bear together they taught us how to fold the blanket we removed. And from that moment on we learned something new with each object we got to touch.
The bears both really looked like bears thanks to the unique costume design by Sully Ratke. All three bears (did I forget to mention Musician Bear played by Sonia Goldberg?) had a unique bear hat that fit their personality. Each bear had a suit that gave them a bearly shape with fur and a tail. Something interesting about the Bears is that Sister Bear was the only Bear who knew human English. Brother Bear communicated with grunts and sign language which Sister Bear translated for us, most of the time. It was pretty cool too because she was sort of teaching us how to sign when she would repeat the words he was saying and do the sign that goes along with it. Though Brother Bear was able to say one word, and it was pretty funny, I don't want give the whole moment away but I will tell you the one word he knows how to say is "Packers" which is pretty funny because he's a BEAR but is clearly a Packers Fan! Hahaha!
My favorite interactive moment of the play was when we got to take out the LED fireflies in our bags and light up the night which was really pretty it really felt like I was outside at night surrounded by real stars or fireflies in the middle of summer. And then we got to put our fireflies in the moon and hang it up and it was so beautiful. My favorite moment in watching the Bears was when they dreamed they were ice skating bears competing at the Olympics or something. They were really good at skating without skates or ice!
The show started with the bears waking up from hibernation and ended with them going back to hibernation. But something special happened at the end. Sister Bear fell asleep and Brother Bear realized that he accidentally took the blanket away from her and she was cold and shivering in her sleep, so he took the blanket off himself and gave it to her and went to sleep without one. His kindness to Sister Bear inspired me to put my blanket on Brother Bear and then something magical happened all the other little kids in the audience did the same and soon Brother Bear wasn't shivering anymore he was cozy and warm and ready for a long winters nap.
Even though this was more of a little kid play than a big kid show (and by little kid I mean like six and under) and even though I was clearly the oldest kid there, still as a nine year old, I still enjoyed myself. There were three takeaways from this play: 1. I learned a lot about the Seasons 2. Even though Brother Bear couldn't speak human English everyone treated him and loved him the same as Sister Bear and 3. Kindness and sharing feels good like a warm blanket.
I think every kid in Chicago six and under should come see this play because it has great education and it is fun for all children at this age. And if you're my age and have a younger sibling you should see this play because you can enjoy yourself and help your sibling with some of the interactive parts.
I give this play 2 paws up and 1 Gazillion points beclaws it's a BEARY GOOD PLAY!
PHOTO Credits: Charles Osgood
Wake Up, Brother Bear! at Chicago Children's Theatre, 100 S. Racine Ave., Chicago (at Monroe) playing now until March 1st, 2020.
( P.S. Brother Bear took a packers hat and put it on a little stuffed bear and said "packers!")
