Taking Action

Ready for Action! (Madison Square Garden, February 7-18), a Sesame Street Live show, brings Super Grover to the stage where he needs help from his friends to bring back his superness. Full of renditions of classic songs like “Old Macdonald” and “Splish Splash,” the show will explore exercise, nutrition, sleep, energy, and hygiene.

Later in the month, tots and younger children will enjoy The Jumpin’ Juniper Show (February 17-April 6) at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, an afternoon with Julie Morris that integrates creative movement, drama, and music to foster early language and learning.

This month is also full of classic stories which have been bent and stretched into new molds. Little Red (February 16-23) at the Connelly Theater turns the classic fairy tale on its head with vegetarian wolves and a rock star Little Red, though that may only be in her mind. Hansel & Gretel (February 9-20) at the Manhattan Children’s Theatre gets a touch of bluegrass and down home dancing in this musical adaptation with book and lyrics by Kristin Walter and music by Michael Walter. In King Solomon’s Language (February 9) beatbox performer Yuri Lane tells the story of how King Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem.

The reconstruction continues with Matthias Kuchta’s adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (February 9) at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, with a cast of life-sized cloth puppets inspired by his neighbors in northern Germany. Also playing at the Tribeca PAC, The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Favorites (February 24) brings to life a collection of stories from award-winning illustrator and writer, Eric Carle. Retold on stage in black light, The Very Hungry Caterpillar follows the wonderful adventures of a caterpillar towards his eventual metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly; Little Cloud is about a cloud who slips away from the rest and transforms itself into various shapes of things it sees; and The Mixed-Up Chameleon is bored with its life of predictably changing color so it decides to embark on a trip to the zoo.

The Velveteen Rabbit (February 10-May 11), playing at the Literally Alive Children’s Theatre, is a musical adaptation of Margery Williams’ classic book. Imaginative kids will also enjoy The Buttonhole Bandit: An Intergalactic Musical Fantasy (February 23-April 6), a story about the galaxy Phoebe discovers in her closet. With the help of an alien named Melf the Gelf, Phoebe embarks on a magical journey to save the galaxy. Algonquin Productions’ new Youth Division will present The Tales of Custard the Dragon (February 16-March 8), an adaptation of two whimsical Ogden Nash stories about a girl named Belinda and her cowardly dragon, Custard.

For a dose of excitement check out the New Victory for Traces (February 8-March 2), which was created by the members of 7 Fingers, a French-Canadian troupe of rebellious, and utterly athletic acrobats. Driven by invention and novelty, these dynamic performers fuse basketball, skateboarding, music, dance, comedy, and illustration to create their own playground of non-stop physicality.