to see Nevermore at JPAC

Last Sunday I saw a play called 'Nevermore' by Grace Barnes and Matt Conner, directed by Steve Calzaretta at Jedlicka Performing Arts Center.  I went with mommy.

The play was about someone name Edgar Alan Poe who was a famous poet. The characters were Edgar (Justin Stevens), Elmira (Laura Martino), Virginia (Sophia Vitello), Whore (Alli Braun), Muddy (Margaret Garofalo), and Mother (Lauren Miller). These characters were ghosts that were haunting Edgar while he was writing.

The set (designed by Michael Nedza) looked like a graveyard and the Orchestra was behind a fence in the grave yard and there were three houses and some benches. I liked the moon on the back wall and the trees. One of my very favorite parts was when the fog was coming off the stage into the audience and into me, because that was so cool and I caught some cloudy things.

The music (directed by Daniel Brottman) was very pretty. there was a full orchestra with violins (Kyle Walcott, Kevie Yu), a Viola (Elizabeth Bellisario), a Cello ( Wilson Smith) a Bass (Ben Krege), a Harp (May Im), and Percussion by Scott Simon.

I didn't understand why I could see everybody on stage when they were all ghosts, that confused me.

Everybody in the whole wide world should see this show because maybe they all like Halloween and this show made me think of Halloween.

I give this play 100 points because it's about Halloween and that's the best.

Love,
Gunnar

to see 'Annie' at the Cadillac Palace Theatre

Mommy's friend Micah gave us tickets to see the Broadway in Chicago production of 'Annie' at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in downtown Chicago, directed by Martin Charnin. Micah gave the tickets to us because he knew that we were sad that Trump won the election. It made my family happy because I love to see plays. I went with mommy, Margot and Daddy and I got to meet Micah at the theatre.

Tori Bates (as Annie) and Macy (as Sandy)

The play was about a little red head girl named Annie (Tori Bates) who is an orphan. An orphan is someone who does not have any parents. Annie lived with other orphans at an orphanage. Ms. Hannigan (Erin Fish) lived with the orphans and she was mean to them. One day Grace Ferrell (Casie Prins) came to the orphanage and took Annie to Oliver Warbucks' house. Oliver Warbucks (Gilgamesh Taggett) is a rich man who has a lot of money and people who work for him. When she got to his house Annie really liked his chair because she kept touching it. Then she met Mr. Warbucks and he told her to sit and then he took her to the movies. Mr. Warbucks loved Annie and wanted to be her daddy but Annie wanted to find her parents. So Mr. Warbucks tried to help her find them.

I loved all the funny dancing choreographed by Liza Gennaro. One of the funny dancing parts was in the song "EASY STREET" when Lily (Mallory King) did the Chicken dance. Another part I thought was funny was  in "YOU'RE NEVER FULLY DRESSED WITHOUT A SMILE (Reprise)" and the orphans kicked their legs up really high.

The one thing I didn't understand was what they were doing when they were singing "EASY STREET". But mommy told me they were trying to come up with a way to take Mr. Warbucks $50,000.

I thought the set designed by Beowulf Boritt was really cool because it could change into other scenes really fast. There was an orphanage, the Bert Healy Radio show, Oliver Warbucks' office, The President's office, streets of New York City, a New York shanty and the big staircase in Oliver Warbucks' house with the Christmas tree. My favorite settings were the ones at Oliver Warbucks' house because the Christmas tree and the giant staircase looked really cool and his office was super big.

My favorite parts of the show were 'EASY STREET' and whenever Sandy (Macy/Sunny) the dog came on stage. My favorite song was 'THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW" because it made me happy and hopeful after a sad day. It made me hopeful that our next president after Trump will be good like Roosevelt!

I had a lot of fun. People who should see this show are Johanna, and everybody in the whole wide world because everyone should have some HOPE!

I give this show100 POINTS because it will give everybody Hope when they need it!!!!

LOVE,
Gunnar

to Junie B. Jones in...Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!

Today I went to see Junie B. Jones in....Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (Adapted by Barbara Park) at Emerald City Theatre, directed Jacqueline Stone. I went with Mommy, Margot and Daddy.

The play was about Junie B. Jones. And Junie B. Jones is very funny, she's in first grade. Elizabeth Stenholt plays Junie B. Jones and she is a really good actor because it was really good to see her be like Junie B. Jones and I know a lot about Junie B. Jones because I read the book Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Allison Gregory and I read it all by myself.  One thing about Junie B. Jones is that she doesn't like it when people forget her B.

In the play May forgot Junie's B. May called her just Junie Jones and that made Junie B. angry. Junie B. spends the whole play fighting with May.  Junie B. Jones has a hard time following rules and May likes to follow the rules and that's why they don't get along. I'm kind of like May because I like to follow rules. May was played by Jaclyn Hennell and I really like her as an actress because I've seen her before in the Nutcracker.

The other characters in the play were Jose and Mr. Toot (played by Johann George), Lucille and Elf Ellen (played by Kaitlyn Griggs), Mr. Scary (played by Darren Hill), Herb (played by Aaron Lawson), and Sheldon (played by Jerome Riley Jr.) I liked all of the characters they were excellent actors and very funny.

The lights (designed by Keith Parham) were blue and pretty and my favorite light was the Rudolph nose that was always glowing. The costumes (designed by Katherin Pavlovna Goldberg) were all really cool and colorful, my favorite costume piece was the purple glasses on Junie B. Jones. The sounds (designed by Jeffrey Levin) were really loud and totally awesome. The best sound EVER was the BURP!!!!!!!!!! All the BURPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Set was designed by William Boles, I know his work because he designed Hotel Cassiopeia and Jabari Dreams of Freedom (two other plays I've reviewed) the set was very very cool and amazing and astonishing! It looked like the whole classroom but everything was gigantic big! I loved the desks because they were so colorful, I wish they had desks that colorful in room 112 in Kindergarten.

My favorite part was the BURP!!!!!! I also really liked the slow motion parts like when May was singing Frosty the Snowman really slow and when Sheldon got spat on and fell down really really slow and then he was freaking out because he couldn't swim but there wasn't really any water it was just paper. There were so many slow motion parts and they were the funniest, especially the sounds!!

Everyone in the whole wide world should see this show because they will learn about Junie B. Jones and how to be a giver and a friend.

I give this play 100 Points because it was soooooo good and "wowie wow wow"!!!!

LOVE, 

Gunnar

Margot, "Herb", Me and "Junie B. Jones"

Me and "May" (look at my cool Elf hat!)

I can't wait to Read my new Junie B. Jones Book!

Margot, "Sheldon", "Jose" and Me!

to see the SpongeBob Musical

Yesterday I went with mommy to go see Nickelodean presents The SpongeBob Musical at the Oriental Theatre in downtown Chicago, directed by Tina Landau.

SpongeBob is a sponge who has a tv show and a movie he lives in a pineapple under the sea. He hangs out with his friends Patrick Star and Squidward Tentacles in their town Bikini Bottom. On this day there was a volcano that was trying to destroy the world. Sheldon Plankton was trying to hypnotize everybody and wasn't helping and Mr. Krabs just wanted to make more money. But Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks (the squirrel) and SpongeBob decided to help the world and save the day and be heroes and be brave.

All the actors were very talented and they sounded and looked and walked just like their characters on TV.  Ethan Slater played Spongebob and he was so funny and cool because because he was a really good singer and gymnast because he could climb on ladders while he was singing and he could talk really loud. Patrick Star was played by Danny Skinner and he was cool and he could fly with Sandy's jetpack. The person who played Squidward Tentacles was Gavin Lee and he looked like him because he had four legs like Squidward and he could tap dance with all four legs he was really good at being grumpy like Squidward. The person who play Sandy Cheeks (the squirrel) was Lilli Cooper and she could talk really fast and she kinda sounded like Sandy too. Pearl Krabs was played by Emmy Raver-Lampman she had a really really good singing voice and I think its really cool that she was in Hamilton (I recognized her from pictures in our Hamilton book.) I also LOVED Jason Michael Snow who played Patchy the Pirate because he was so funny and he made jokes about Chicago and my favorite was when he slid down a rope and said "See I told you I'd be back!"

The music was great. We sat close to the conductor and music director Julie McBride who was so funny, she wore a pirates hat to help Patchy hide, conducted with a spatula and she played fighting with mini characters in a doll house size version of Bikini Bottom. My favorite songs were "BFF" (by Plain White Tees), "No Control" (by David Bowie and Brian Eno) "(Just A) Simple Sponge" (by Panic! At the Disco), "Hero is my Middle Name" (by Cyndi Lauper), "Chop to the Top" (by Lady Antebellum) "(I Guess I) Miss you" (by John Legend) and "Best Day Ever" (by Andy Paley and Tom Kenny).  And the dancing was cool my favorite dance was "I am not a loser" when Squidward tap danced with four legs (choreography by Christopher Gattelli).  I also loved the foley design by Mike Dobson who made squishy sounds when Squidward and Spongebob walked.

 The lighting design by Kevin Adams was awesome especially during "(Just A) Simple Sponge" because the sponges were glowing. The set designed by David Zinn was HUGE there were blue bubbles and giant boulders and tv screens and the houses that SpongeBob, Squidward and Patrick live in. The giant volcano was made out of boxes and ladders. But my favorite part of the set were the Rube Goldberg Machines that shot the giant boulders onto the stage, one of them used a bike that flipped upside down! (Note: A Rube Goldberg machine is a machine that has a lot of silly steps to do a simple task...mommy showed me some cool videos on You Tube) The costumes (also designed by David Zinn) were really fun! I loved the costume for Mr Krabs because he had huge red boxing gloves for claws and it looked cool. Squidward had four legs and Pearl had a P on her shirt and I liked SpongeBob's costume because he looked like SpongeBob without the sponge part. Sandy the Squirrel didn't have a tail but I didn't care. Everybody just looked like human characters and I liked that.

My favorite part of the whole show was when Patrick Star was flying in on Sandy's jetpack and the confetti streamers and beachballs that landed on us at the end of the show.


Everyone in the whole world should see this show because I think everyone would love it as much as I did.
I give it 100 Points because WOAH!!!

LOVE, Gunnar

Me by Patchy's #1 Fan Seat

Me with all of the streamers I caught at the end of the show.

To The Lion King Jr. at Chappell Elementary

Last night I went to see Disney's The Lion King Jr.  I went with Daddy and Margot. It was at Chappell Elementary School which is my school where I go to Pre-K. The show was performed by the 7th and 8th graders at my school in the gym. With music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, it was Directed by Ted Nazarowski. It was based on the Broadway production directed by Julie Taymor.

The play was about a kid lion named Simba (played by Aryhys Ocupe) who wanted to be King. The King was Mufasa (Joshua Burns) his dad. But one day Mufasa died when he rescued Simba and Scar (Suchith Karri) pushed him off a cliff. When Mufasa died Simba ran away because Scar told him to. He ran away and met Pumba (Erick Brito) and Timon (Nino Ocupe) who brought him into their creature home.

The puppets were really good and I liked them. They were shadow puppets of Scar and Mufasa and Mufasa falling down the cliff. The costumes were good they looked like animals one looked like a zebra. There were some masks that looked like Lions on top of their heads. Timon was a puppet.
The music was good I liked the drums and the singing was good.

There was a silly part where Pumba said something like "He's not going to eat us" and Timon said "You're talking about a Lion!" I laughed at that part. I liked the silly part where Zazu (Amir Sehwail) was singing "It's a Small World After All." My favorite songs were "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" and "Hakuna Matata."

My friend Jo should see this show and all my friends and school should see it because its like the movie and people like the movie.

I give this show 10 points because I liked it a lot.

to Jabari Dreams of Freedom

Yesterday I saw a play called "Jabari Dreams of Freedom" by Nambi E. Kelly.  I went with mommy. I saw it at the Chicago Children's Theatre at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. It was directed by Lili-Anne Brown with music direction by Jaret Landon.

The play was about a young boy named Jabari (played by Phillip Cusic) who didn't want to go out the door because somebody almost killed his friend Emmett (Patrick Agada).  So Jabari was scared and he stayed at home and was dreaming a lot. He dreamed about dinosaurs (Matt Keffer), lions (Emily Glick), storm troopers, Barack Obama (Gavin Lawrence) sleeping under his bed, Claudette Colvin, Ruby Bridges (Leslie Ann Sheppard)  and Martin Luther King Jr.

First he met Barack Obama who took him to a bus to go for a ride next to Claudette Colvin. Claudette is an African American girl who was the first person to not give up her seat for a white person and she got arrested.  Jabari became friends with her on the bus and he watched her say "I'm not going to give up my seat because my legs are tired from standing and walking" and then the bus driver picked her up and took her to jail. Then Barack Obama took Jabari to meet Ruby Bridges who is just a little older than me, she is 6 years old, and she is a precious jewel who brings people together. She and Jabari drew a half of a dandelion together before she was the first young African American child to go to an all-white school. Then he met two kids who were making signs to walk out of school to protest segregation, which is a new word I learned today that means separating people from other people like black people and white people. Then Jabari watched a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and then he met Barack Obama as 7 year old kid. And then Jabari and Barack Obama played catch and Obama talked about how he wants to take MLK Jr's place if anything happens to him. And he said "Yes We Can!" And Jabari was like "Can he do it?" and then Barack Obama said "Yes We Can!"  and he said "I like that!"

The show was really cool I really l liked the lights around the door that glowed red (designed by Nick Belley) and the projections of the houses and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (designed by Michael Stanfill).  The set was so cool it was designed by William Boles who also designed Hotel Cassiopeia, isn't that crazy? The set was like a tall wall and a fence and above that was a cloud and some houses. There was a really big glowing door and an old fashioned tv where a silly guy said "blah blah blah blah blobby pop." I really loved all of the singing and music in the play and the really cool sounds of the dinosaurs and lions and the Nae Nae song designed by Victoria Deiorio.

My favorite part was when Barack Obama was screaming. Gavin Lawrence was really really good at sounding and acting like Barack Obama, that was so cool.

I'm sad that I can't tell everyone in the whole wide world that they should go see it because we saw the last show. But I hope other theatres will choose to do this play, like maybe Stages and the Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis or Filament should do this show because I really really really really loved it and learned a lot!

I GIVE THIS PLAY 12 POINTS BECAUSE I LOVED IT THE BEST!!

Love,
Gunnar

to see Hotel Cassiopeia

Last night I went to a play called "Hotel Cassiopeia" by Charles Mee and I saw it with Uncle Zach, Aunt Kerry and mommy.  And I went to see it at Filament Theatre which is the same theatre where we saw Pinocchio, but this show was performed by the North Park University Theatre. My mommy was the director of the play.

The play was about Joseph Cornell (Scott Todhunter) who was an artist who made boxes with birds and forks and pictures and things and it was also about his brother Robert (Kamren Smith) who I think had a sickness and never talked in the play but he was happy and funny sometimes.

There were three characters who wore white curly wigs and they kept talking about girls and birds and there hair was curly and white just like Joseph's hair, they were the Astronomer (Carri Stevens), Pharmacist (Raymond Hutchinson) and Herbalist (Tyler Skaffgard).  The other people in the play were the people in the movies (Annamarie Giodano, Stacey Klingberg, Olga Lebedeva, Ryan Sillins), and Joseph's mom (Bernadette Hagen) and the girls who used the puppet ballerina (Hannah Harper-Smith, Christiane Schaldemose, Emelie Ödén) there were also some silly and angry artists.

The play felt like FUN and happy and sad sometimes. It kind of seemed like it was a dream because things didn't even make sense sometimes.

There were some movies during the play and the characters in the movies came out and talked to Joseph and Robert and that was crazy because that couldn't really happen! Robert sang a song before the movies that reminded me of Star Wars and it was cool the way he sang it. And then Joseph sang a different song before the second movie.

There was one part where there was a guy with a toilet seat around his head, mommy said he was playing an artist named Duchamp (Tyler Skaffgard) who was silly and put a potty in a museum and said "this is art."  That was so silly!

The lights (by Maggie Fullilove-Nugent) were pretty and blue and sometimes red. The costumes (by Krissy Sneshkoff) were all white and blue and sometimes a little brown. The set by William Boles looked like a big box with a window, a ladder and a bed and some stools and the floor looked like the sky with stars. And one really cool thing was that I found a small square box of the set on a table in the lobby after the show it was just like the set.

There was lots of music (original music and arrangements by Michael Huey) and dancing (movement by Nicole Jordan) in the show. I heard a song in the show that I think I know from the Radio that everybody sang (well everyone except Joseph's mom) and I liked when they were stomping and clapping but that isn't in the song on the radio and at the end they said "Shhh" and that's not how the song goes on the radio but, that's ok. I loved the parts when Robert was dancing because he was a funny guy.

I liked some of the props (Archer Curry) because they were so big, I liked the huge fork and I liked the giant cups because they were very very very gigantic and so so big. One of my favorite parts was the big owl that always said "Hoot Hoot" every time he showed up in the window. There was also a ballerina puppet which was life size and it was just like a backpack but you could put in on your tummy and the girls could wear the puppet and become the ballerina. I bet it takes a lot of work to make a puppet like that, I don't even know how you do that.

My favorite part was when Robert was so excited when the guys with the wigs first came in and they were fighting over a hoop and then Robert finally got it but then the silly guy with the medicine on his head came back and ripped it out of his hands and that was so funny.

Everyone in the whole wide world should see this show because I think everyone in the whole wide world would love to know more about Joseph Cornell.

I give this show 10 points because I really liked it.

Love,
Gunnar

Hotel Cassiopeia has 3 more performances April 21, 22 and 23rd at 8pm. You can purchase tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hotel-cassiopeia-tickets-24449021682