***** I truly enjoy doing plays that are for young people. First of all, I get to spend some time with my “other” family, my “young people’s theater” family. Since my grandkids “aged out” and I started bringing Anna and Jack, I have watched them truly become theater patrons. Today I met them ( and their mom, Fallon) at The Greenhouse Theater Center for the opening of “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”, based on the book by Laura Joffe Numeroff and adapted for the stage by Jody Davidson.

This is a one hour story that is part of a series of situations that Mouse and others have. In this story, directed byRandy White on a fantastic set designed by Shane Cinal, we meet Boy ( Diego Rivera-Rodriguez, who quickly wins the audience over) who is being left home alone while his mother goes off to visit his aunt. He is all excited about his new comic book and having time to read it while enjoying one of his mother’s wonderful chocolate chip cookies.

As he settles in, he finds that there is a mouse ( a wonderfully smart character created by Matias Kruse). What we witness from this point is a series of events where the Boy tries to work with the Mouse and lots of crazy situations with lots of slapstick and cartoon-like scenes. The props (Amy Gilman) are amazing, with a number of them created in super sizes so that they seem extra large for handling by a mouse. Kruse’s character is adorable and he is quite the talent handling some tough situations with his agility. He also juggles and dances and the movement ( not choreography) direction by Britt Anderson is solid, and at some points a bit scary. Both f the actors do play the audience well, allowing that the fourth wall is gone.

There is a third performer, not listed in the program who plays Mother ( in final scene) and another part in one of the scenes. I would rather not tell you details as it is entrancing to witness the sheer perfection that  is witnessed in the mirror sequence. I loved it and so did my Junior Writers!The performer’s name is  James Hisanaga, and they are very talented.

There are some very funny moments in this comic book like story, and judging from the audience reaction, it is just as much fun for the adults as the kids. The only problem that ever becomes one is not starting on time. Every minute delayed is one that magnifies itself as far as bathroom needs. The little ones ( and I am afraid, the older audience members as well) , once done, are good for 60 minutes, but after that, who knows? I would imagine today’s delay was due to this being the first running and that will not be a regular occurance.

On te tech side, the lights ( Kevin Rechner) and sound (Dominic Rincker) are perfect and I truly loved the props ( Amy Gilman) and the costumes (Ellen MacKay).

This is what the young reporters had to say:

We loved Young People’s Theater’s production of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”! My children, Anna (8, almost 9) and Jack (4), were engaged from beginning to end, and I enjoyed the performance just as much as they did.

The set was amazing, and the characters were incredibly endearing. The actors who played the boy and the mouse were fantastic, and the kids especially loved all of the oversized props. There were so many funny moments that had them laughing, including the mouse drinking the oversized milk, the mouse and boy fighting over the straw, their hilarious attempts to clean with bleach going everywhere, and the mouse skating around on the sponge roller skates. The scene where the mouse gets ready for bed and changes into his underwear was another huge hit with all of the kids in the audience!

I was especially impressed by how much entertainment they created with such a simple set and a small cast. The mirror scene was particularly clever, and the actress who played the reflection was wonderful in this scene. There was so much laughter throughout the theater from the children in the audience.

The length was also perfect for young children, which makes this a wonderful choice for families with children of different ages.

Overall, this was such a fun and heartwarming experience. We will absolutely be recommending it to our friends with young children and are excited to see another Young People’s Theater production!

“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” will continue thru Oct 25th with performances as follows: