The caterpillar is hungry. Very hungry. Over seven days, he devours an apple; some pears, plums, strawberries and oranges; chocolate cake; a pickle; salami; a lollipop and more. And he gets a stomach ache.
The story, of course, has a happy ending, with the caterpillar emerging as an adult butterfly.
Children and their parents can enjoy the antics of the caterpillar March 6 and 7 when Mermaid Theatre brings a puppetry production of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other Eric Carle tales to Genesee Theatre.
“It’s a very simple story. Children love it,” said Jim Morrow, artistic director for Mermaid Theatre, a traveling children’s production company based in Nova Scotia and founded in 1972.
“They go crazy for the caterpillar. He does nothing but be born, eat, go to sleep, and become a butterfly. It’s the journey that’s fun. It’s what he eats and how he eats.”
The theatre, which stages shows by using puppetry, recorded music, narration and black lights, has created a play that combines three of Carle’s tales, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “Little Cloud,” and “The Mixed-Up Chameleon.”
“It’s our most toured show,” Morrow said. It’s been performed for more than 2.5 million people in 15 countries in Dutch, English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, French and Mandarin, he said. Children love it because “it’s a very noisy and interactive play that allows the child to be vocal.”
But they as well as their parents also love the show because of Carle’s simple stories with simple messages and characters who stimulate their imagination, he said.
“Most of the messages in Eric’s work are implied — but they’re meaningful. He’s inspired by something and then he writes a book about the simple idea.”
The “Mixed-Up Chameleon” features a chameleon who is bored with just being able to change colors and wants to become other animals in the zoo, while “Little Cloud” introduces a shape-changing cloud.
“Eric Carle is one of the worlds’ leading authors for young audiences,” Morrow said. “He has written over 70 books translated into over 30 languages. His books are the most elegant stories written for children.”
Carle began writing and illustrating children’s books in the 1960s. Now in his mid-80s, he continues to write and has a website featuring his works.
“He’s become a very good friend and supporter of our shows and the adaptations we make,” Morrow said.
Morrow creates puppets for stage, television and film. He also serves as director of puppetry for Symphony Nova Scotia’s production of “The Nutcracker,” and conducts master classes in puppetry in North America.
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Mermaid Theatre’s adaptations are meant to inspire children and parents to read together. “It’s wonderful the relationship mom and dad have with children at bedtime reading stories,” Morrow said. “I raised four kids. I would read with each of them. We would fall asleep together. I’d wake up with the book on my chest and my beautiful children in my arms.”
“It’s important for our company to present work that is based on classic children’s literature,” he said. “We want to promote literature and the joy of reading. That’s more important today than it’s ever been.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’
When: 3 p.m. Sunday; 10 a.m. Monday (school show)
Where: Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St. Waukegan
Tickets: $12
Information: 847-782-2366; www.geneseetheatre.com