**** What makes Chicago Children’s Theatre so special is the way they get the children ( and often the parents as well) involved with the amazing story-telling experience of “live Theater” for children. Their current play, “Carmela- Full of Wishes” adapted by Alvaro Saar Rios, based on the book by Matt De La Pena, actually begins for audience members prior to the “curtain”. After checking into the theater, the children and their older guests take to the craft tables where they can do puzzles, draw and/or create a dandelion. Each young person should make one as it will be part of the production later.

The play is approximately one hour in duration and tells  the story of Carmela ( a powerful performance by Isadora Coco Gonzalez), who is celebrating her birthday. We get to meet her mother, Mami ( Claudia Quesada, who also plays additional roles), who has prepared chocolate chip pancakes in honor of her birthday. We also meet her older brother Miguel ( deftly handled by Jose Cervantes).

We learn about Carmela’s life through meeting many of the people in her life, many played by Quesada and Eduardo Curley, who also plays Papi ( her father). A great deal of the story, smoothly directed by  Sonya Madrigal, who also handled the choreography. is the adventures of this special day. The play is bilingual, and much of the music and dance is very ethnic, and yet quite understandable.

Part of the story is about the dandelion and how one can get wishes granted as the flower portion of the plant is blown away. As the story goes on with Miguel keeping Carmela occupied and busy, we see her think about wishes that she might make ,and as we go on her mind adventures her flower keeps changing in size. In fact, the props ( (Lonna Hickman) are quite cool as we visit a laundromat, bodega, ice cream vendor and much more. From the start, Carmela is quite concerned about if her dad will call, and we later are made aware of the fact that he had to leave America because he was not legal. In today’s political world, even the little audience members seemed to understand that.

The set  (Regina Garcia) is quite interesting, allowing us to visit many different locations in a limited space and the lighting (Conchita Avita) and sound by Stef Senior and Satya Chavez (who also composed the music) along with the music supervision by Charlie Malave helped keep the children into the story. Jazmin Aurora Medina’s costumes were quite fitting and the puppets designed by Stephanie Diaz and Wendy Madrigal added to the overall picture.

As one can see from the above, it takes a great number of people to bring a play like this to life. Four actors are only a part of the overall production, and the others, including those who build the set, sew the costumes, and move the props and furniture around, complete the final product, and as always with the Chicago Children’s Theatre, it is both educational and entertaining.

As you know, I always like to bring a younger person, or two, in order for you to get the perspective from their eyes. Since today was Halloween, Jack opted out, his mind on “trick or treating” and the treats he would fill his pumpkin with, but Anna was, as always, ready and raring to go, and so was her new friend, Della.

Here are their thoughts:

We had a wonderful time at Chicago Children’s Theatre’s production of Carmela Full of Wishes! Anna and her friend Della, both third graders, were engaged for the entire play.

I thought this was such an important story for children this age, especially because of the opportunity it creates to teach empathy. Carmela’s father has had to leave the family to get his immigration paperwork in order, leaving Carmela, her mother, and her brother behind.

As Carmela thinks through all the wishes she would make, I thought it was really touching how much thought she put into the people she loves. She recognizes how hard her mother works and considers using one of her wishes to make her mother’s life a little easier. Another wish would bring her father home, and another would make her brother want to spend more time with her. I loved that the wishes weren’t just about what she wanted, but about the people she loves.

The story was touching, with lots of nods to Hispanic culture. It was also fun, colorful, and thought provoking.

There were also a lot of laughs. Della especially loved the bickering and back and forth between Carmela and her brother. They both laughed so hard when Carmela found his underwear at the laundromat. Anna loved the interactive part of the show, when the audience got to hold dandelions and bubbles came floating down from the sky.

I would definitely recommend this production for children ages 5-10. The cast was incredibly talented, and the use of props and the interactive stage made you feel like you were part of the story rather than just sitting in the audience. It was a wonderful performance and a great opportunity to introduce kids to a story that encourages them to think about others and see the world from a different perspective.

 

“Carmella Full of Wishes” will continue through Nov 15th, with performances as follows: