Mom Theatre Blogger: Mr. Popper’s Penguins: Show Review by Amy Wall Lerman
In 1938, Richard and Florence Atwater wrote a children’s book called Mr. Popper’s Penguins which has been entertaining young readers for 3 generations. It’s a story about a small town house painter named Mr. Popper and his wife. They live with their two children in Stillwater, Oklahoma, a small town where nothing much happens and everyone knows each other. For the Poppers, that’s enough to set them dreaming of bigger things like…let’s see…traveling to Antarctica, maybe? But before the Poppers can pack their parkas, Antarctica finds its way to them.
Since its publication Mr. Popper’s Penguins has seen quite a bit of success including a film of the same name starring Jim Carey…loosely based on the book.
Now the Poppers have hit the stage. One of my favorite New York City stages in fact: The New Victory Theater – which by the way, if you haven’t taken your kids to yet, you really must. The New Victory showcases children’s theater productions for all age ranges, from all over the world, and I have yet to be disappointed.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a 55 minute musical with no intermission. It’s a show recommended for children ages 4 to 7, and I would say that’s pretty accurate. My son is approaching 9, but he loved every minute of it…so you might be able to push the age range a little. For the little ones, it may be a tad slow at the onset but that changes rapidly when the first penguin appears.
Mr. Popper and Mrs. Popper are portrayed as a childless couple in this version. Mr. is the dreamer while Mrs. is recruited into the fun. After all, it’s hard not to fall in love with the squawking antics of this fine feathered friend. They name him Captain Cook and to keep him in a climate friendly habitat, he lives in the refrigerator. However, that’s not enough to keep the Captain content. It turns out Captain Cook is lonely…so naturally the local zoo sends along a penguin pal named Greta. Well, the Captain and his companion get along just fine and before the Poppers can say “Orville Redenbacher,” they have 10 little squawking popplets (just my way of saying penguin chicks) eating them out of house and home.
While the set design by Zoe Squire gives the feel of turn of the century America, the music by Luke Bateman and lyrics by Richy Hughes definitely have a 1930’s flare with perhaps the hit of the whole show being the theme song itself: “Mr. Popper’s Penguins.” It will stick in your head (I’m humming it now) and make you think of Broadway.
The Poppers are played delightfully by Russell Morton and Roxanne Palmer of the UK based company Pins and Needles Productions with direction by Emma Earle, set design by Zoe Squire and puppet design by Nick Barnes. And it wouldn’t be right not to mention the two actors who bring the penguin puppets, Captain Cook and Greta, to life. Between all the pecking, wing-flaps, and pertinent head turning, Lucy Grattan and Scott Jones disappear behind the puppets, letting the penguins take their rightful place…center stage.
And don’t let your little dreamers dart out the door after the curtain call…more fun awaits.
The show runs until October 30th.
