Elephant (Evan Casey) and Piggie (Lauren Williams). Photo by Teresa Wood.
With hours and hours of reading books about Gerald and Piggie’s adventures to my children over the years, I often wondered what would these engaging elephant and pig characters would look like live and in person and even as people. What would they sound like? Can they sing? How about dancing, can they, would they?
Mo Willems, the author of the Elephant and Piggie books, answers these questions with his Elephant & Piggie’s We Are In a Play! live stage show. I had the pleasure of seeing the world premiere musical production at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC this weekend, and wow am I glad that I did.
…even if you have no idea who Gerald and Piggie are, you will still adore this show.
The Elephant and Piggie books have always been a favorite with young children. The stories are told through conversational bubbles between “bestus” friends Gerald and Piggie. Their adventures range from, “Today I Will Fly!” to “I’m A Frog!” and the theme of each story is based on the power of friendship with other life lessons thrown in.
Evan Casey plays the elephant Gerald and he is everything I envisioned a live Gerald to be. Casey understands who Gerald is and how important his relationship is with Piggie. Without Piggie, Gerald’s life would be small and lonely; Piggie brings color and verve to his overly concerned, and at times, uptight world. Lauren Williams plays Piggie and is wonderful as the lively yang to Gerald’s yin.
One of the best parts of the play is when Piggie gets an invitation to a party, from the book “I Am Invited To A Party!” Gerald promises Piggie that he knows parties so he decides the party has to be a dress-up, costume, pool party. Just the outfits alone had the audience laughing and cheering.
The other characters were the Squirrelles, Ashleigh King, Brittany Baratz and Deborah Lubega. All three women added to the story by providing lively singing, dancing and amusing comments.
The live music is provided by a four piece band (George Fulginiti-Shakar, Patrick Plunk, Daniel M. Hall and Danny Villanueva) that remain on stage and interact with the action.
My daughter and I really enjoyed seeing some of our favorite books come to life on stage and even if you have no idea who Gerald and Piggie are, you will still adore this show. Gerald and Piggie are special characters with a friendship that translates to all types and ages.
Running Time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Elephant & Piggie’s We Are In A Play!” is playing through December 31, 2013 at The Kennedy Center’s Family Theater, 700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566. Tickets and Information call 800-444-1324 or 202-467-4600 or click here.
