to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre

On Sunday I went with mama to see FAMILY DRAMA: 2 Norwegian Plays at Akvavit Theatre. And it was super mega funny. 

Christopher Donaldson, Daniel Stewart and Karla A Rennhofer in The Returning

C.Donaldson, Karla A. Rennhofer, Daniel Stewart in The Returning

The first play was called The Returning by Frederik Brattberg (translated by Henning Hegland) directed by Lee Peters and it was super funny because it was about a kid named Gustav (played by Daniel Stewart) who kept disappearing (or dying) and then returning, which at first brought his parents (played by Karla A. Rennhofer and Christopher Donaldson) a lot of sadness (when he was missing) and then joy (when he returned) but it keeps happening and the more it happens the less his parents seem to care about his return. One of the funniest parts is when Gustav is tossed on the floor and treated like a rug and it seems like his parents are more sad about someone else who has died, than they are about their own son who is dead on the floor. 

Jordan McGinnis, Madelyn Loehr and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Jordan McGinnis and Madelyn Loehr in Goliath

The second play was called Goliath by Maria Trytti Vennerød (translated by May-Brit Akerholt) directed by my mom, Kirstin Franklin. This play is about two brothers named David (Samuel Pate) and Goliath (Jordan McGinnis) (yes just like the bible story) who have come together again to celebrate their mom's fiftieth birthday and to celebrate the soon birth of a new sister named Anette (Madelyn Loehr) who is still  inside her mom's tummy, but also living outside at the party, confusing I know but FUNNY! The mother (Borgny, played by Kelly Levander) tells a story about when David was eight and Goliath was twelve and David defeated his brother and his big bully friends. But Goliath doesn't like the way the story has been told and told again and he is really angry and seeks revenge in a fight scene (choreographed by R&D choreography) that looks really cool and violent but is done only with rhythm and motion. Wait and see what they use for blood, it is pretty funny.  My favorite part is when David puts himself in an ambulance and makes himself the ambulance out of objects from the party and puts the siren on his chest and it sings the ice cream truck song. 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

Madelyn Loehr, Samuel Pate and Kelly Levander in Goliath

Both plays are similar because the parents in both stories struggle staying kind to their kids and eventually cause harm, even if it was or wasn't intended. These plays have dark humor because there is actually a lot of intended violence in these plays and it's okay if you find it funny, cause it really is funny. 

I really thought the set (designed by Milo Bue, built by Harrison Ornelas) was interesting because they had the same structure for both plays but things just moved around to create a whole different set with a different feel.  For example the chairs that were used for the dining table in The Returning were used as party chairs for Goliath.  And the counter and oven unit used for The Returning just turned around and the sink was removed and a white table cloth was placed over it and it became a party table and then later an ambulance, hospital bed and coffin for Goliath. My favorite costume (designed by Lily Walls) was the Mother in Goliath who was pregnant and she really looked pregnant but she wasn't.  Just wait til you see what was actually under her dress! I'll give you a hint it's not a ball.  I really liked what Tony Adams did with the lighting design. I wonder how he made it look purple sometimes and green and yellow at the same time. The music (designed by Timothy McNulty) was funny especially in Goliath when the party was happening and it was weird disco music and another song that roared like a lion and death metal and when mother told the story about David and Goliath there was this funny Egyptian music. 

But the most impressive design element had to be the props designed by Letitia Guillaud. There was a huge turkey that looked really real in The Returning and in Goliath there were lots of beautiful cakes and a kransekake (krahn-seh-cock-ah---that's a special Norwegian cake). There was also a "Happy Birthday" banner that flipped around for the funeral that said "Happy DeathDay." 

Kelly Levander and Samuel Pate in Goliath

My favorite character in The Returning was the Dad played by Christopher Donaldson because he kept forgetting things about his own son and he tried to turn his son's room into a gym. My favorite character in Goliath was Anette because she's an unborn kid she told funny poems and she made other people feed her ice cream and cake because she didn't know how to eat and she sometimes even ate her own hat. I also liked Goliath (McGinnis) because he and Anette did funny things together like putting cups on party hats and funny things like that. 

Samuel Pate, Kelly Levander and Jordan McGinnis in Goliath

I think that both of these plays were interesting because they both had a theme of family and make us think about how we sometimes can be mean to our own family members, and the truth of that is what makes both plays super funny. 

I think that probably anyone who speaks English and all of my friends should see this play because its super funny but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under the age of eight because they might be scared at the violence. I give these plays each INFINITY STARS because they are mega super amazingly awesomely funny.   

photos by Karl Clifton-Soderstrom 

to see The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 at Chicago Children's Theatre

On Sunday I went to see the World Premiere of a play called The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis Adapted by Cheryl L. West, Directed by Wardell Julius Clark at the Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station. I went with mama and Margot. When we walked into the theatre it was really big and there were these big couches for us to sit on. The set, designed by Arnel Sancianco, was made up of a broken up/fake car that the actors moved with their feet and underneath the car was a large map that sloped up like a hill on the far wall, they used the sloped part for projections later in the play. There was also a big door for the houses and a couch on wheels.  I thought the set was really clever because it looked really hard to make and it helped tell the story of a road trip between two locations.

The play is based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Paul Curtis. It tells the story of a family named the Watsons who are from Flint, Michigan and their trip to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The family has five members, Daddy (Bear Bellinger), Mama (Sharriese Hamilton), Byron the oldest son (Stephen "Blu" Allen), Kenny (Jeremiah Ruwé on Sunday's performance) and Joey (Jillian-Giselle). At the beginning, Kenny is hiding under a couch and Byron is getting in trouble all the time. The family decides to take Byron to Birmingham to visit Grandma (Ti Nicole Danridge- on Sunday's performance) and help him be better.

I loved the use of the family car. They listened to records on the road trip thanks to a new record player and the family would sing along. The projections along the far wall helped us see the signs they would see along the way and as they got closer to Alabama the family seemed more scared. They seemed scared in the dark and they would sing songs.

Because the play takes place in 1963 it's important to know that Alabama was a segregated state and Michigan was not. When the family got to Alabama you could tell the family felt less comfortable because they kept seeing signs about segregation and met people who tried to scare them by saying "We don't like trouble-makers"

When they got to Grandma's house, the grandma told them about a boy who went swimming and got sucked up by a whirlpool and Kenny thought she said Wool Pooh and then Byron told a make-believe story about the Wool Pooh and said it was Winnie the Pooh's evil brother.  But Kenny didn't believe him until he was swimming and had a scary experience that brought more fear to his mind. Kenny thought he saw the Wool Pooh. This was a cool moment because they used a really big prop of fabric to represent the water and it made for an interesting stage picture. But you'll have to see the show to find out more.

I should also mention that this play is based around a Historical tragedy, the 16th Street Church bombing of 1963 which killed four innocent little girls and injured 17 more lives. There is a very sad moment in the play when this is mentioned. All of this was a part of the moment when blacks were fighting for rights to be treated like everyone else and it was the worst in the South because of the Ku Klux Klan. I think the Wool Pooh was meant to represent the Ku Klux Klan because they had the same badge and a similar hood/mask.

The actors were all very talented because they had strong voices and used their bodies and the space well. My favorite character was Byron, played by Stephen "Blu" Allen, because he was really funny when he kissed the car mirror and his lips were frozen. My favorite part was when the Dad (Bear Bellinger) said "put your hands out the window" of the car and Joey said "BUT I DON'T HAVE A WINDOW!" because she was in the middle of the back seat.

This play was really powerful because it taught me that the LOVE of a family tree has stronger roots than the Hate tree, as we hold each other up we are stronger together.  Hate has rotted roots with nothing to cling to.

I give this play FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION POINTS because it is a REALLY AWESOME PLAY and I think everyone in the whole wide dimension of the Universe should see it.

Love,
Gunnar

to see the World Inside Me at Chicago Children's Theatre

Last Saturday Margot, Daddy and I went to see The World Inside Me presented by Chicago Children's Theatre. It was a co-production presented by The Station and Spellbound Theatre. It was Directed by Lauren Jost who also Co-Created the show with Christine Dehne

The building where the play took place used to be a police station and it wasn't a normal theatre, there were seats but no stage. There were drawers next to a big screen where props were stored, these had ice packs and bandages and cells and body parts and things that the performers let the kids touch and feel and explore. There were videos of body parts playing that helped kids understand more about their bodies. The videos were talking about how our bodies digest, things I already knew but things little kids will learn a lot from.

The play mostly played out with songs sung by the actors WT McRae, Sarah Folkins, Melana Lloyd and one of the actor's Jono Waldman wrote the music and played guitar. My favorite part was when things that were supposed to be cells that looked like fidget spinners started falling out of the ceiling and we put them in different boxes that represented our Hands, Nose, and Mouth.

This play is for ages 2-5 so it was a little below my age and interests but my little sister Margot who is four was just right for this show. I could see that the toddlers and younger kids in the audience were having a lot of fun playing with a mirror ball that they pushed around on the floor. They talked a lot about blood and headaches and how to feel better. My sister Margot had so much fun.

I think ages 1-5 would really like this show because it was a fun and inventive way of teaching little kids more about their bodies in a short amount of time.

to see Knuffle Bunny at Emerald City Theatre

On March 25th, 2018 I went to see Knuffle Bunny at the Emerald City Theatre with Mommy and Margot. The show is based on the book by Mo Willems with music by Micahel Silversher and was directed by Aileen McGroddy.

The play was about a little girl named Trixie (played by Deanalís Resto) who takes a trip with her dad (played by Matt Miles) to the laundromat where she loses her stuffed animal, Knuffle Bunny. Poor Trixie is too young to explain to her daddy why she's sad and her daddy can't understand why she's so sad. It's a real problem. A problem Trixie's mom (played by Abby Murray Vachon) can help solve.

My two favorite elements were the puppets and the projections.  My favorite puppet was the pigeon puppet (the pigeon from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, another Mo Willems book, makes an appearance in the play) operated by Jar'Davion Brown.  I also loved the life-size Knuffle Bunny and the ginormous clothing puppets too, they were all awesome and designed by Angela McIlvain.
My favorite projections were the black and white slides when Trixie's dad was chasing her. I also love the projections of Knuffle Bunny and Trixie's Dad inside the washing machine. The black and white photos reminded me of the pictures from the book and the movie from inside the washing machine was really fun and all of it was designed by Michael Commendatore.

My favorite part was when Trixie's Dad said "I found it!" and Trixie's mom said "See honey I knew you could do it" and then Trixie's Dad pulled something out of the machine and held it up and Trixie's mom said "Some ladies Underwear?!?" That was so funny! I also liked the part where Trixie started to sing her sad song again and Trixie's dad yelled at the stage manager and said he wouldn't let that happen again!

This play was a good reminder to be mindful of important things you carry with you. I think that's why that's why it's called a "Cautionary Musical"...it's probably a good idea to keep your favorite things at home.

I give this play Infinity Million points and I hope infinity million people go see this show because it's so funny and awesome.


Love,
Gunnar

to see Magic Tree House "Showtime With Shakespeare" at Emerald City

On Saturday morning I went to go see Magic Tree House "Showtime with Shakespeare" at Emerald City Theatre with Mommy, Daddy and Margot. The play is based on the Magic Treehouse book but the book is called "Stage Fright on a Summer Night", the play is written by the author's husband Will Osborne along with Jenny Laird with music by Randy Courts and it was directed and choreographed by Jamal Howard.

The play is about Jack and Annie who have a magic tree house that makes people go back in time when they say "I wish to go there." In this story they went back in time to meet Will(iam) Shakespeare who is a famous playwright from a long time ago and they get a mission from Morgan le Fay that is to find a magic that can turn daytime into night.

My favorite characters were Jack (played by Nik Kmiecik), Annie (played by Emily Senkowsky), Will or William Shakespeare (played by Leon J Evans) and Dan the funny dancing bear (played by Miguel Long). I was impressed with how high Nik Kmiecik could jump and how he played Jack so well because he seemed really scared about going on stage in Will's play.

I really liked the set of the Magic Tree house that turned into Shakespeare's stage designed by Angela McIlvain and I liked the prop apple designed by Danielle Myerscough. I also loved the lights on the magic treehouse designed by Brian Elston because they made the tree house look like it was spinning and spinning.

Photos by Austin D Oie

I loved all of the songs but my favorite part was when Jack and Annie solved the puzzle. This play taught me that you can learn magic by performing in the theatre. Theatre is magic.

I think all of my friends should see this show because it is based on one of my favorite books. Everyone who sees this show will love it.

I give this show 1,000,000,000,000,000 points because this show is AWESOME!!

Love,
Gunnar

to see WICKED

On January 17th me and mommy went to go see WICKED at the Oriental Theatre in downtown Chicago. The musical is by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman and its a story about a girl named Elphaba and how she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, but it is also a story about how a girl named Glinda becomes Glinda the Good. I know these characters from the Wizard of Oz.

The shows starts with the ensemble singing NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED because the Wicked Witch of the West is dead and Glinda (played by Ginna Claire Mason) comes down from the sky in a bubble and tells the story of how Glinda and Elphaba became friends at school. Glinda has so many bags and all of the friends when she gets to school and Elphaba has just one bag, green skin and a sister in a wheelchair named, Nessarose when she gets to school.

We know Elphaba (played by Mary Kate Morrissey) has magic powers when she tries to protect her sister.  Madame Morrible (played by Tregoney Shepherd) tells Elphaba she's going to meet the Wizard.  Elphaba and Glinda share a room with a blue bed and a pink bed and they don't like each other.  Glinda gave Elphaba an ugly hat as a joke and Elphaba thought it was a gift, so in return she gave Glinda a training wand and a chance to train with Madame Morrible. When Glinda found this out she felt happy but sad that she was mean to Elphaba so when Elphaba gets laughed at for wearing an ugly hat to the ball, Glinda teaches Elphaba how to dance and they become friends.

Dr. Dillamond (played by Harry Bouvy), the goat professor, was losing his voice and when Elphaba and Glinda got to the Emerald City to see the wizard of Oz they found out that he was the one taking away his voice. The wizard had asked her to give his monkeys wings which was when she learned that he had no real powers so Elphaba took his book and decided to fly away, Glinda wanted to fly with her but she decided not to because she was maybe scared. And from then on Elphaba was known as the Wicked Witch of the West.

I loved ALL of the costumes, designed by Susan Hilferty,  because they were all so fancy and princess and prince-like. My favorite costume was the blue and silver Cinderella-like one that Glinda wears in the beginning and the end because she looks like a beautiful beautiful princess.

The songs by Stephen Schwartz were so good. I really liked "One Short Day," "What is this feeling," "Dancing through Life," "For Good," but my favorite song was "Popular" because Glinda was so funny especially when she taught Elphaba how to toss-toss her hair and she screamed with glee, this was my favorite part of the whole show.

If there was something I didn't like it was the dragon on the set because I thought he might blow fire and he moved and his eyes were red. I also didn't like the mist on the stage because it made me a little scared.

This show taught me that you can learn to be anyone's friend no matter what if you just show kindness to them.

I think that everyone in the whole world should see this show because its so cool and fun, well everyone expect babies, because babies would be really scared of the dragon (and their babysitters should stay home with them).

 I give this show 200-ZILLION POINTS because it is so AWESOME!

Love,
Gunnar

It was so cool meeting everybody after the show thanks to my friend Greg!

to see Twas the Night Before Christmas

On November 22nd I went to see Ken Ludwig's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" at Emerald City Theatre Directed by my favorite Artistic Director Jacqueline Stone, I went with mommy and Margot. The play was about a kid named Emily (played by Kirra Silver) and her friend mouse named Amos the funny mouse (played by Alejandro Tey) who saved Christmas.

 It started when Uncle Brierly (Darren Hill) was reading Twas the Night Before Christmas and he said it was his favorite poem but when he got to the part "not a creature was stirring not even a mouse" Amos came out from his little house and he was stirring cookie dough to make cookies for Santa. And when he got to the part "while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads" Amos had the pigeon from "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" and was dancing with it because he thought Uncle Brierly said "while pigeons and sugar plums danced in their heads" which was so funny. And when Uncle Brierly left they did a dance party and then they saw a girl in the window who came into the house. The girl turned out to be a Jewish Elf named Calliope (played by Nora Lise Ulrey) from Santa's Workshop and she took them on an adventure on a plane to the North Pole where they found out that all the elves were locked in a dungeon by Sir Guy (also played by Darren Hill). Sir Guy wanted to sell the Naughty and Nice list so he could be in charge of Santa's workshop. But Calliope, Emily, Amos and Amos from Kansas found a way to save Christmas.  And Santa (played by Anthony Whitaker) gave Emily and Amos medals for saving Christmas.

The set designed William Boles was very creative. I loved how it seemed like there was just one thing on the stage, Uncle Brierly's house, but then all these little doors opened up and it transformed into Santa's Workshop. I love love loved the props designed by Letitia Guillaud especially the giant yummy candies and the amazing airplane that they flew in to get to the North Pole. I also liked the costumes designed by Rachel M. Sypniewski especially the mouse ears and tail on both Amos and Amos from Kansas.

My two favorite parts were: 1. when Amos was like "Ahhhhhh who's that? What's that?" and Emily was like "The stage Crew" and Amos said "The stage crew! Ahhhh!" and 2. When Amos said "When is this plane going to land?" and Emily said: "Amos the plane already landed you're the one still spinning."

This play taught me that the best gifts don't come in packages they come from being present and having fun.

I give this play One hundred thousand, million, billion, zillion to the infinity points because it was just so fun and funny.  And I think every animal and every person and everything in the whole wide world should see this play because it is the best play I have ever seen in my entire life.

Love,
Gunnar