The Very Hungry Caterpillar

“This production, which will mesmerize audience members as young as 2, doesn’t so much adapt four of Mr. Carle’s picture books as animate them. You could swear that the stories’ creatures had stretched, stood up, shaken themselves and lumbered, leapt, sailed or flown off the page...The show saves 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' for last...Like Mr. Carle, he proves to be a master of artful transformation, beginning with the simple only to arrive at the bedazzling.”

“Beautiful, rhythmic and faithful to the author’s works, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' is a triumph for first time theatregoers...Filled with ‘wow’ moments and stunning effects throughout, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' is mesmerizing...For first time theatregoers, this is a triumph of faithful storytelling and pattern recognition. For seasoned viewers it's a production that’s beautiful to watch – no matter how old you are.”

“To us older kids it’s the dullest collection of simpleness ever, but to tiny tikes, it’s pretty swell...The prop-on-stick 'puppets' are, most of them, very colorful and the actors move them about the stage doing their best to imitate expressive styles unique to each animal and only once bumping into one another. My thirteen year old daughter was bored out of her mind by these, but the colors and choreography were mesmerizing to anyone a year old to about four.”

“The stage was bare and white, and I thought how thoroughly the experimental aesthetic of downtown theater had traveled uptown. Minimalism is a perfect match for children's theatricals, in which creators want to guide the child through the narrative and not overwhelm...The show was fun and engaging, but the experience of being in the audience, with the other parents anxious for their children to glean every last bit of entertainment from the piece, was too disheartening for the ticket price.”

“Everyone from all different backgrounds can relate to the deeper meaning in these four stories...The cast has worked hard to get the characters to step off the page. They have forged living, breathing creatures by manipulating the puppets in a realistic way and paying attention to each animal, insect, and human characterization…The puppets aren’t the only thing that makes this show great. 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show' has both illusion and spectacle.”

“For toddlers, it was magical, most kids in the audience were glued to the stage, the colors, gentle music, the soft voices of the actors, the familiarity of the pictures and very slow movements made it familiar and interesting…The play was very true to the books. It’s also great for a first theater event, good for babies and their older siblings who like to show off how much they know.”

“This adorable production from Australia is magical with it’s puppetry and the perfect first theatre show for children…I really loved the work by The Puppet Kitchen and found their creations delightful...The good news is parents will be just as entertained as their youngsters due to the creative sets, scarves and puppets.”

“The show was very creative and we think it is great for kids ages 10 and younger. The show was very colorful and the music was just a perfect match to the actors and the puppets! There were lots of decorations and puppets. We rate it five smiles for all children.”

“Grab your youngster and head straight to the 47th Street Theatre for this family-friendly show with its 75 colorful puppets. It's faithful to the original stories that kids have loved for decades...The puppeteers use a light-handed touch and keep the puppets moving across the stage at a brisk clip, inviting the audience into a world where magical animals have adventures and do extraordinary things.”

“In an era when children’s entertainment is often a flamboyant bonanza constantly bombarding the senses, 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' show feels refreshingly personal and unassuming. The set, costumes, and script are modest, but colorful, and the production is minimal, except for the sheer number of vibrant puppets...Jonathan Rockefeller has created a charming four-part show based on Eric Carle’s classic books...The small-scale production feels both familiar and exciting.”

“The theater is perfect for the show and the kids. This is a colorful production, loaded with gentle messages wrapped in an engaging presentation. If you're looking for young kids' introduction to theater, this is it.”

“The puppets themselves, 75 in all, are well-crafted and big enough and colorful enough to grab the attention of the most distracted Wiggle fan…The result was a house full of kids having a great time. They were encouraged to laugh, clap, call out, in short, to be kids, and they did…'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' creates little theatre fans, and that is the entire point of theatre for children. My 2-year-old granddaughter already is asking when we are going again.”

“Absolutely endearing! Everything about it is top-notch! The skilled puppeteers take turns narrating the stories and the puppets, created by The Puppet Kitchen, are beautifully done and true to the original collage illustrations in the books.”

“We went to see 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show' and were absolutely in awe for the whole 50 minutes. It was the perfect choice for a toddler's first live show. Four Eric Carle stories were so cleverly told with the use of puppets and colour...I would highly recommend the show for children of all ages.”

“This production made these stories fresh and vibrant. The creators and producers of the show, Jonathan Worsley and Michael Sieders have done a terrific job in bringing these four tales to the stage...The whole presentation was easy to watch and delighted the attending parents as much as the intended audience.”

“For the children’s theatre-maker, success is marked in silence. And on those benchmarks alone, the Sydney Festival Parramatta production of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' is a knockout success...It’s fair to say that the beauty of the puppets here is literally breathtaking...The original soundtrack hits just the right note...This is a superbly realised vision of what might have been a very difficult adaptation and a work that honours its much-loved source text/s completely.”

“It’s never easy to successfully adapt a popular book for stage or film nor to keep a theater full of toddlers and preschoolers engaged and seated for an hour. Yet the latest stage adaptation of Eric Carle’s beloved [stories] does all that and more…It’s earnest, colorful, artsy and will hold your kid in awe for 60 solid minutes…With minimal narration, the production is a visual feast that relies on the bright colors and personalities of Carle's characters to take center stage.”