Pioneer Press April 4, 2007

Doggie doings in Grant Park

April 4, 2007

By Catey Sullivan, Contributor

Venture into the circus tent in Grant Park over the next two weeks and you may find yourself pondering the age old query: Who let the dogs out?

That would be Evanston's Andrew White, who makes his debut directing children's theater with "Go, Dog. Go!" running through May 20 under the big top in Butler Field. Usually, one finds White onstage, often with the Lookingglass Theatre which he co-founded almost 20 years ago. For now, however, White is behind the curtain, reveling amid the wild rumpus of brightly colored dogs that bound through the Chicago Children's Theatre production of "Go, Dog. Go!"

"It's pretty much plotless, but that doesn't matter," White said of P.D. Eastman's beloved children's book, "There's playfulness to this story that I love. That kids love."

Pup party

The story, for those too far removed from childhood to recall it or who somehow missed out on the colorful, I-can-read picture book, deals with a cacophony of dogs engaged in a wild rumpus of running, skating, dancing, skipping and leaping. Red dogs, blue dogs, yellow dogs and dogs with hats race through the tale with the sort of free-wheeling abandon humans rarely exhibit past the age of around six. The celebratory denouement comes as all the dogs race up into trees and have themselves a big ol' dog party.

"In dogs, the spirit of play that is absolutely uninhibited. They're so in the moment, "said White, whose children -- Julia, 9 and Asher, 7 -- are long-time Go, Dog. Go! fans.

"Capturing that spirit is one of the things that appeals to me so much about this piece," he said.

The show brims with circus artistry and acrobatic shenanigans as the dogs swing from trapezes, bound up and down ladders and clamber in and around the audience. The piece's intense physical demands led White to turn to some of the area's finest physical comedians and neo-vaudevillians when he began working on the show. The cast includes members of the vaudeville-zany 500 Clown troupe as well as the always rollicking Barrel of Monkeys company.

Dogged acting "When I auditioned people, I had them do one minute of dog behavior," White said. "Figuring out just how dog-like or human-like they should be, where they are on the human/canine continuum -- that's a bit of an ongoing balancing act."

Finding that place on the continuum is of paramount importance, added Chicago Children's Theatre Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell.

"These dogs doing all these zany things, they're almost sacred to children. I remember when my daughter was two, we actually had a 'Go, Dog. Go!' birthday party. Now she's 10, so she's a little old for the book itself, but she's totally into helping with the show. She was very concerned that we got the dogs just right," Russell said.

To get the show up in Butler Field, Russell had to sell the idea to no less than Mayor Daley. So last year, she found herself making a presentation about singing, skipping dogs on the fifth floor of City Hall.

"He completely loved the idea," Russell said. "We think it will be a great way to kick off the start of spring."

'GO, DOG. GO!'

Chicago Children's Theatre, Under the tent in Butler Field in Grant Park, Monroe Street and Lake Shore Drive. 7 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sundays, April 13 through May 20. $15-$38. (312) 334-7777. www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org.

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