ELEPHANT & PIGGIE’S “We Are in a Play!”: Show Review by Amy Wall Lerman
To know them is to love them. And if you’re a kid aged 8 and under, in all likelihood, you’ve sampled the fun.
The Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems are simple and sweet. My son was hooked on them for many years. I introduced him to Willems’ pigeon books (i.e. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus to name just one) when he was a baby. We read them over and over and to this day they make us laugh. Elephant and Piggie are a little different. They use the same type of quick humor but they take us to a place where friendship is the very essence of existence. It’s a message that children really understand because there’s nothing like your childhood buddies.
The show Elephant & Piggie’s “We are in a Play!” (for ages 4-7) at The New Victory Theater in New York City, captures the delightful relationship between the somewhat neurotic pachyderm and his optimistic porker pal in bold and brilliant style…as it should, since the show (script and song lyrics) is also written by none other than…Mo Willems.
If you’re a fan of the Elephant and Piggie books, you will recognized the stories spread throughout the show. Against a backdrop that reminds us of the book covers (a blue background with orange detailing that changes hue from scene to scene), Elephant and Piggie sing and dance their way through the trials and tribulations a typical childhood friendship. They deal with problems like: Should I share my ice cream? What do I do at a party? You broke my toy! And the fear of losing a friend. But they always come out solidly on the other side – a little smarter, a little happier, and eternal best friends.
Evan Casey plays Elephant Gerald. He originated the role when the show premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and is on the original cast recording. Casey is the first on stage. Since he’s kind of small and skinny (very un-elephantine in appearance), I turned to my son and said “that’s Gerald.” He whispered back, “I know.” And that’s because Casey had all the presence of the bespectacled Gerald that would make him instantly recognizable even to the most dubious adult.
Next on stage is Piggie played by Lauren Williams. Okay, she’s all in pink so she’s clearly Piggie, but its her squeaky, zippy, happy-happy-joy-joy bounciness that brings Piggie to life. Williams also originated this role at the Kennedy Center, so she and Casey have built a rapport that comes across brilliantly to the audience. They are literally in-step with each other. What is perhaps most remarkable about these performances is the actors’ understanding of characters that exist in a picture book. This is exactly how Elephant and Piggie would be if they suddenly came to life. Every child (and grownup) in the audience is completely pulled in.
As we grow up our relationships become more complex, more involved, and making friends is never as easy as it was when we were in elementary school. Elephant and Piggie remind us that we may never know what it is that united us in the first place, but once you form that bond, it’s not so easy to break. Friendships take work and patience but some things, some people (or creatures) are worth fighting for.
The show, directed by Jerry Whiddon, is performed through February 5th and has a running time of 60 minutes, no intermission.
Amy Wall Lerman is a TV news producer, author, and Motherhood Later’s Northern NJ Chapter Head. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and 9 year old son.
