to Mr. Popper's Penguins at Lifeline Theatre

10 POINTS!!!!!

Yesterday mommy and me when to a play called Mr. Popper's Penguins at Lifeline Theatre (adapted by Robert Kauzlaric). It was directed by Paul S. Holmquist. When we sat in our seats I saw six ladders, I saw paint on the ladder, I saw the red curtains, a baby and a globe. We saw boats, a lantern, an old radio, a captain hat, and there was a big box made of wood. I liked the red light (designed by Jordan Kardasz) that was shining onto the curtains, it made me feel glad and warm.

When the play started the actors were singing all the time and the music (by George Howe) was pretty when they were singing together in harmony. We met Mr. Popper (Johnathan Schwart) and Mrs. Popper (Heather Currie). Mr. Popper was a painter and they didn't have enough money to buy food. Mr. Popper loved reading Antarctic Adventures. He read about the penguins in Antarctica and he said they'd make a good pet.
Then Admiral Drake (Josh Bernaski) sent Mr. Popper a penguin in a box. And then the penguin came out of the box and he was big and funny and cute. And the penguin kept saying "Ork! Ork! Ork!" So they called him Captain Cook because it kind of sounded like he said "Cook" when he talked. Then Mr. Popper took Captain Cook on an Adventure downtown and they went to every single place. Someone thought he was a pelican and someone that he was an ant eater.

Mrs. Popper said "What is that?" when she met Captain Cook but she loved him anyway. They put him in the fridge because it was cold in there and penguins live in the cold. Then they helped him make a nest and they put lots of stuff in the nest, and they put a banana in the nest which doesn't belong in a nest cause that's funny to put a banana in the nest because its just food. Then the zoo sent Mr. Popper another penguin because Captain Cook wanted a girlfriend, her name was Greta. And then they loved each other and had ten babies that were just cute. Then Mr. and Mrs. Popper taught the penguins to do an obstacle course and took it to a theatre so Mr. Greenbaum (Amanda Roeder) could help them feed all the penguins.

I loved the show a lot!!! My favorite parts were the banana, the seal chase, the baby and the globe.  I thought they (design by Joe Schermoly and Elyse Balogh) did a really good job with the ladders and I really like how they made a bus, a jail, the obstacle course, and a boat with the ladders. After seeing the play I really liked it and wanted to buy the book so I could read it!

I took the autographs from all the actors after the show and mommy got me a Captain Cook stuffed animal penguin.

Everyone should see this play because its really good. Jordan, Jaspar, Jacob and Jo would like this show. If you like penguins, ladders, music, painters, bananas, Captain Cook, puppets, or seals, you'd like this show.

The End. I Love you. Love, Gunnar 

To Dragons Love Tacos at Emerald City Theatre

10 POINTS!!!

Today I went with Mommy, Daddy, Margot, Auntie Kerry, Uncle Zach, Wesley, Jordan and Jo to see a play called "Dragons Love Tacos" at Emerald City Theatre, Co-directed with Chicago Repertory Ballet (there was lots of dancing) Adapted by Ernie Nolan, and directed by Morgan Ashley Madison. We went there with everybody because it was my birthday party, because I turned 5 years old on Sunday! I wanted to see this play because I have the book by Adam Rubin and Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri and I really like it.

When I walked in the theatre I saw a little house. The roof was red it was made out of bricks. The curtain behind the house was purple. The curtains covering the windows were blue. The bench was red. The chimney was red. There was a big tv in the middle that was black. There was a fence next to the house that was brown. And under a window there were pink flowers in a box.

The play didn't start the way I expected. When it started the boy (Liam Dahlborn) and his dog (Erik Streibig) were doing homework. And then the boys mom left and they were sad, they tried to play fetch but then there was lightening so it was raining so they couldn't go outside. They came back inside to play fetch. They did that for a while but they got bored so they watched tv. They watched silly things like when the man was trying to kiss the girl she was like "no! no!" But then a man (Andrew Goetten) was on tv and he was telling them about dragons and then suddenly he came out of the tv to tell them all about what dragons could do.

And the dragons came to the house by coming out of the hallway. There were four dragons, the Red Dragon (Christina Chen), the Yellow Dragon (Lucy Zukaitis), the Blue Dragon (Jon Martinez) and the White Dragon (Michelle Reid). The Dragons don't know how to talk but they did know how to dance and they did a LLLLLLL-AAAAAHHHHHHT (a lot) of dancing! The Red dragon was my favorite because Red is my favorite color, she had little wings. The yellow dragon had a tail and no wings, the blue dragon had claws and the white dragon had spikes. When the tacos came out they had a taco party, because dragons like parties and they like tacos.

My favorite part was when they were breathing fire and the white dragon took off a piece of the house! The one part I didn't like was the Thunder because it was too loud.

I liked the show a lot, 10 points. My friends like this show. I think Jaspar should see this show because he never saw it before. Girls and Boys who like dancing would like this show because there is lots of dancing.

The END.  

Love, Gunnar. 

To see "The Nutcracker" at the House Theatre of Chicago

Last night I went to a play called "The Nutcracker." My ticket looked like a bell and it was an ornament for our Christmas tree.  In the theatre it looked like a Christmas tree. When I walked in the theatre Hugo (Andrew Lund) was talking to me and told me and mommy to sit in the black seats because they were the best seats in the theatre.  The stage had a Christmas tree in the middle of the theater. There were presents under the tree and five white window doors and I saw pictures hanging on the walls. The pictures were of the whole family: Mom and Dad, Clara and her brother Fritz.

At the beginning of the play the officer came and told everyone that Fritz had died. And everyone was very sad because when they saw the flag and the sword they took it and then they were crying and they took the Christmas tree away. And I saw them put the Christmas tree behind me off the stage.  Then I think it was another year when Drosselmyer (James Houton) came back for the party but they didn't have a Christmas party. The mommy  (Marika Mashburn) and daddy (Abu Ansari) didn't want to have a party because they were still sad because Fritz died. But Clara (Jaclyn Hennell) was sad that there wasn't a party.  And then Drosselmyer gave Clara the nutcracker that looked like Fritz.  And then Fritz (Desmond Gray) came ALIVE to help Clara and her family celebrate Christmas and get the RATS!

I really loved the part when Chris Matthews played the monkey and they were in line and he was screaming and going "Ahh Ahh Ahh Ahh!!!!!" and everyone else was saying "Shhhh! Shhhh! Shhhh! Shhh!" That part was really funny! And  when the rats were done singing their song The Really Quite Scary Rat (Houton) screamed HI!!!! And that was funny. And I really loved playing in snow on the stage after the first act.

There was one really scary part with really really really big Rats and when they looked at mommy and me I thought I might be scared but then I thought "you don't want to eat me because I'm not in the play!" And then it was good. When the Rat king was coming the doors and the pictures and the walls broke apart and I don't know why they were still like that at the very end of the play. I wanted them to get fixed again.

I think kids like my friend Jo should go see this play because its fun to see scary things sometimes. I think Jordan and Jaspar might like this play because they are excited about Christmas just like me, and this play has a lot of Christmas in it.  Don't go to this show if you get scared of things because there are scary parts.

-Love Gunnar

To See "New Kid"

Last night I went to a play called "New Kid" it was at a theatre in Chicago at mommy's school (North Park University).  It was about a New Kid named Nick (Seanna Wong), she came from a land called Homeland to the United States and she brought her favorite bowl.

When she moved she went to school. She met some girls at school. One girl was not nice (Mog- played by Annemarie Giordano). One girl was nice (Mencha- played by Christiane Schaldemose). One girl was not nice because Nick told one of the girls to take a little bite of her food and when she didn't like it, she fell down. And then the not nice girl played zombie after she fell down and she took Nick's bowl and she dropped it down the stairs and it broke. And that was a school fight. And Nick was sad.

Then a little later the not nice girl came and wrote on the window. It said "Sgak" which is a mean word. And then the not nice girl brought her bat to school there was another school fight later. And the bad girl hurt Mencha but Mencha didn't let the bad girl play or hurt Nick. Mencha kept throwing the ball to Nick.

And then Nick and Mencha (the nice girl) played ball. And at the end of the play they played ball again.

I liked when the bad girl wrote on the window because you're not supposed to write on the windows, sometimes that's silly. I liked it when they wore Superman and Green Lantern shirts. I also liked the part when Mencha ate the pudding because she at it way too fast and it was SOOO Green!

This play is saying you should be nice to everybody.

I think my friends Jordan, Jo and Jaspar would like "The New Kid" And that's all. That's all I have to say. The End.

-Love Gunnar