Looking for something to do the whole family will enjoy? You’ll want to check out the South Carolina Children’s Theatre’s production of Mr. Popper’s Penguins. My son and I were able to review this show and both of us really enjoyed it. We’re sharing all the things we loved about the show in this review, plus all the details so you’ll know just what to expect when you head out to see Mr. Popper’s Penguins!
Thanks to the South Carolina Children’s Theatre for providing tickets to this show so we could bring our readers a review of Mr. Popper’s Penguins!
About Mr. Popper’s Penguins
If you’ve read Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater, you’ll find the story in this musical very familiar. What fun it was to see the story brought to life on stage! Being a homeschool mom, I had assigned the book to my 7 year-old son to read for the first time. He loves to read and he loved this book. After the show, without prompting he happily spent some time pointing out the little tiny differences in the story between the play and the book. I highly recommend picking up a copy of the book and reading it before you see the play (or even after!). Its a pretty quick and fun read.
But back to the story. You’ll follow Mr. Popper, a house painter who dreams of exploring, as he gets quite a surprise. The famous explorer Admiral Drake sends Mr. Popper a package. When the crate is opened, out pops a penguin! Soon he’s joined by another penguin sent by an aquarium. After some eggs are laid the Popper’s find themselves in some financial trouble as they try to care for a large family of penguins. They find their answer by turning the penguin family into a performing penguin show. However, they soon discover that while show business pays pretty well, its a tough life. Maybe its not the best for the penguins? The Poppers have some decisions to make.
What’s to Love about Mr. Popper’s Penguins
The South Carolina Children’s Theatre uses puppets and puppeteers to bring the penguins to life. You’ll see them waddle, dance and fly through the air during the Poppers’ Performing Penguins show. During most of this the puppeteers are visible and I thought this might be a little confusing to my son. But really our eyes were on the penguins and their antics the whole time. Plus, the puppets really added an interesting element that made this production unique to other productions I’ve seen. It was fun to see the puppets interact with the actors and actresses playing Mr. and Mrs. Popper and the other characters.
Who Should Go?
There were a variety of ages in the audience. I think this is one production that would really appeal to any young child who is able to stay seated quietly for the roughly hour long production. There is no intermission. But it would also definitely appeal to older children who enjoyed the book. My 7 year-old really had a great time and I’m confident both my 8 year-old and 10 year-old sons would have enjoyed if they had gone, as well.
My Son’s Review
People should go see this show because its really funny. The penguins say “Ork!” and I’m not really sure if penguins actually say “Ork!” I don’t think they do. But it was really funny. The tiny baby penguins were also funny and cute. I liked that they were puppets. My favorite part was when the penguins were performing in the show, because it was just so funny to see them going across the stage in canons.
Want to Go?
You can catch Mr. Popper’s Penguins at the Peace Center’s Gunter Theatre with shows through February 3rd, 2019.
- January 27, 2019, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
- January 27, 2019, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
- February 1, 2019, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- February 2, 2019, 10:00 am – 11:00 am
- February 2, 2019, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
- February 3, 2019, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Buy tickets for Mr. Popper’s Penguins online. Tickets cost $19 for children and $28 for adults.
Peace Center, Gunter Theatre
300 S. Main Street, Greenville
What South Carolina Children’s Theatre shows have you taken your family to see?