“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle [Media Invite]

I am going to be absolutely honest that I do not know of any Eric Carle and I haven’t heard of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” either. But when the invite came from Act 3 International, I knew it must be good. How else would one explain paying good money for the kids’ tickets, as well as the adult’s too, just to watch the some “kid’s play”? Steffi happened to have read the book in her child care before when I asked her about it, and she was really excited when told of the play. So all the more I needed to bring the kids to watch then. 

Happy kids before the start of the program!

Did I mention that Steffi, Leroy and Stacci also got exclusive access to the backstage with a bunch of other parent bloggers and their kids? Yes they did, and they were really delighted to get up close and personal with all the different puppets used for the show, and also learn about how the puppetry worked before even watching the show. The kids even got hands-on lessons on moving the different puppets by the absolutely friendly cast from Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia.

Steffi enjoying her puppetry workshop before the start of the show!

Little Cloud welcomed us, together with Shawn and John.  Little Cloud looked a little bright doesn't he?

Jonny showing how Caterpillar eats his way through the apple. 

I had no idea why the sheep is in that colour until much later during the show.  It was actually Little Cloud in disguise.

A nice photo for the kids to remember their fun times backstage with John and Jonny.

From my own perspective, I was not particularly impressed with the puppets or the gadgets used. In fact, the puppets were rather amateurish and didn’t look that attractive to me. What the puppeteer did to make the caterpillar appear to eat the apple, or for the chameleon to catch the fly with its tongue were also really simple. But nevertheless, the kids were easily fascinated. I did not have high expectations for the play and thought that it would just be, well, another child's play.

The caterpillar at rest before being molested by lots of little hands.

Of course Steffi needed to try out moving the big caterpillar too!

Leroy and Steffi with one of the 3 caterpillars used in the play.  This is the little one. 

Leroy having a go with the green chameleon puppet.

Even Staci loved it and wouldn't let go of red chameleon after taking the photo!

But I was wrong, very wrong. The moment the lights went off, the set came to life with burst of bright florescent colors and the crowd simply went wow.  I wish I could have taken some photos or even video for you, but I can't.  Watching the show was almost magical to say the least, with the puppets seemingly moving as if they were alive, while shining under black light in their glorious phosphorous paints. The story lines were really simple (meant for kids wat) and all my kids were captivated.  Thumbs up to the cast for putting up such a great show!

The kiddos waiting rather impatiently for the show to start.  It doesn't matter where one is seated, for the action is visible from all angles (with the help of booster seat of course).

I also overheard another parent exclaiming on how the puppets looked exactly the same as the characters in the books and that the story lines were faithfully followed and that it was actually the second time they had watched the show as a family. The only regret I had, was bringing the kids to the play only last Friday, and not having time to write about and introduce this great play to all you readers out there. If the show is being brought back into Singapore again, trust me, do NOT miss it. Your little one will surely love it!