We all have favourite children’s books. For our family, PD Eastman’s “Go, Dog. Go!” has been read so many times it looks as though the dogs in the story ate the book. Our kids were thrilled when I told them Carousel Theatre for Young People was putting their beloved story on stage. As we’ve come to learn, the Carousel Theatre for Young People does not disappoint with their productions. We loved the show!
Rather magically, the short book has been stretched into an hour long performance. Even more impressively, very few additional words have been added to the stage play. There was a little guy sitting in the row in front of us. At one point he announced “that isn’t in my book!”. It was rather precious, but he only needed to say it once.
While the PD Eastman wrote the children’s book in 1961, it wasn’t until 2003 that the book was adapted as a children’s musical. The actors in the CTYP production were delightful. We have enjoyed Dustin Freeland in previous performances (Dot & Ziggy; Shakespearean Rhapsody). In Go, Dog. Go! he assumed the role of Green Dog. We became big fans of Allan Zinyk when we saw him in Hansel & Gretel. His sarcastic humour was spot-on for the role of Blue Dog. My husband really appreciated the Obi Wan Kenobi shout out during the bee-bop. I desperately wished we got to hear a bit more of Red Dog’s (Steffanie Davis) voice; the glimmers we caught were spectacular! Purple dog – aka MC Dog – was played by the very witty Mike Gill.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson
I must give a shout out to the set & props designer, Shizuka Kai. The bright, colourful props were a character unto themselves. The large sizes and cartoon-ish look made it really seem as though the story had walked off the pages of the book and onto the stage. If your child falls in love with one of the 5 cars used in the book, you are in luck! The CTYP is having a used car sale. During the run of the show, parents can hop online and bid on the cars. At the end of the show, if you are the highest bidder, you can take home one of the cartoon-y cars!
The Carousel Theatre for Young People production of Go, Dog. Go! runs until March 20th at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. The show is for children ages 3+; our 5 & 7 year olds both really enjoyed the show. I would suggest that the show is best suited for the 3-7 year old crowd. The performance is 60 minutes long with no intermission.
