SEATTLE – Every theater production has its climactic scene. The children’s play “The Green Sheep” is no different.
When the Up Sheep was shot out of the red cannon and then, as gravity would have it, became the Down Sheep, the crowd went wild with uncontrollable giggles.
The reaction was good enough to do the scene again. More giggles.
As we say in the biz, that was definitely the money shot.
But “The Green Sheep” is by no means a one-shot wonder. From the thumb-suckers to the toddlers, this audience was captivated for the full 30 minutes looking for that green sheep and, by the way, learning about shapes, colors and other essential life elements, like rain, bravery and the importance of wearing sunscreen.
So parents out there, “The Green Sheep” delivers on a lot of levels. And if you’ve been hesitating on that first theater experience, wait no more. This show is kid-friendly plus.
Seattle Children’s Theatre and The Children’s Museum in Seattle collaborated on the show in a re-creation of the book “Where Is the Green Sheep?” by Australian author Mem Fox, who also wrote the engaging “The Magic Hat.”
The book and the play take the children on a journey to find the green sheep. Along the way, the audience is introduced to a wide variety of sheep types.
The audience at Seattle Children’s Museum make their search while sitting in a sheep’s pen. The pen keeps them corralled but certainly not sedentary as the kids are allowed, and sometimes encouraged, to crawl or toddle about, dance or do a moonwalk, clap and talk out loud.
The action took place mostly outside and around but even sometimes inside the pen – there’s no actual stage – as SCT cast members Michaela Koerner, Connor Toms and Sarah Mixson moved around wooden cutouts for each scene.
From the Bath Sheep – Baaaaath Sheep – to the Swing Sheep, to the Car Sheep, Train Sheep and Wind Sheep, the search continued. Props such as a bathtub with bubbles and a duckie, a kite for wind and a big yellow car were all clever. Props such as the big blue silky scarf of the Wave Sheep were imagination inspiring.
All of this searching was done to a musical cavalcade of delightful sounds and familiar preschool songs produced by musician Matt Johnston, who remained at one edge of the pen surrounded by drums, metal and bamboo chimes, bells, a gigantic rain stick, that Johnston pointed out was “even taller than me,” a tambourine, keyboard and a vibraslap, a funky device that reverberates to create cartoon-like sounds. After the play, Johnston encouraged kids to try out the instruments.
In the end, the green sheep was located … somewhere. And for the finale, the cast and audience interacted in a workshop that helped shake out some of the wiggles and reinforce a new concept or two.
Arts writer Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424 or goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Chris Bennion photo
Michaela Koerner and Connor Toms perform in “The Green Sheep.”
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