Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Seattle Children’s Theatre‘s holiday production is Mr. Popper’s Penguins. After a successful run on 42nd Street in New York City, it’s debuting at SCT. The show is recommended for kids ages four and up. It features penguin puppets, vivid storytelling, actors playing multiple characters, lively songs, and so much more!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is based on the classic children’s book written by Richard and Florence Atwater. The book was originally published in 1938. It tells the story of a poor house painter who dreams of exploring Antarctica. After writing a fan letter to a famed explorer, he receives a package that changes his life forever. You can purchase Mr. Popper’s Penguins
I thought this presentation was lovely! The vintage-inspired costumes and props really set the stage. Their actors did a fabulous job with their old-timey English accents. Therefore, the whole production made me feel like a was watching a British WWII era film in the coolest possible way!
At the end of the show, the cast led the audience in a fun dance number. It was energetic and I heard squeals of laughter from all the kids around us. My son insisted I get up and dance with him and it was a fabulous way to cap off a great show!
What My Preschooler Thought
My son was very excited to see this show. We had gone to The Snowy Day last year and he talked about it for weeks after. This was the first time he’d been to an evening performance right at bed time. I wasn’t sure how he’d do, but he was mesmerized from the first song! He kept leaning forward and intently watching all the actors. As soon as the song finished, his whole face lit up and he clapped like crazy!
When the box arrived at Mr. Popper’s house, he kept saying, “I don’t know what’s inside! He should OPEN it!” And when they opened it, he kept saying, “Mommy, it was a PENGUIN!” And then it started moving around the house and it blew my preschooler’s mind. But when the penguin ended up in the refrigerator, my son thought that was the funniest thing on Earth!
He had a few questions during the show about how the penguin puppets worked. So did the kids around us. My son got a kick out of the other kids laughing and responding to the show.
The only part he didn’t like was when the producer walks into his office, sees Mr. and Mrs. Popper and their penguins and asks what they are doing in his office. Apparently, my preschooler found this really rude and kept saying he had bad manners. We spent a lot of time talking about what he could have said instead to sound nicer. But that was literally the one thing he didn’t love out of the entire show.
He went nuts for the part near the end of the show when confetti snows down on some of the audience! It surprised us! In retrospect, I did hear the fans warming up before the confetti, so you can warn kids who don’t like surprises. Note: Sit up front if you’d like it to confetti on you, or sit in the middle/back of the theatre to just watch.
But, he absolute favorite part was watching the penguins on the boat at the end of the show! He couldn’t figure out how they could get on a boat. The whole concept seemed hilarious to him. All weekend, he kept telling me about those funny penguins who got on the boat.
Stop By The Gift Shop
My husband is famous for saying, “I haven’t met a gift shop I didn’t like.” My preschooler seems to have inherited this. But, I will say that the gift shop at Seattle Children’s Theatre is pretty cool. I mean, they have a puppet theatre where they encourage kids to “try out” their puppets and create a show!
And they have a lot of quality items. I always get a bit giddy for gift shop items that correspond to museum exhibits/events. The selection of Mr. Popper’s Penguins items did not disappoint. Finally, the best part is that you are supporting a non-profit.
Winterfest
For the ultimate Seattle family adventure, explore Seattle Center’s Winterfest before or after Mr. Popper’s Penguins. It starts November 24 and festivities include a model Winter Train & Village, Winterfest Ice Rink, ice sculpting, student performances, and more! You could even add in a ride on Seattle’s Monorail.
Seattle Children’s Theatre sent me press tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
58 Comments
Ahh looks like such a fun time, cute book!
-Ashley
It was a really special experience!
I love that book. I’ll bet the show was so fun. It is a great story to do around the holidays as well.
Yes, it was a great way to kick off our holiday season!
Thanks for sharing MPP is my twins favorite book, so it was great to read it from your perspective.
It’s such a silly story and it really came to life on stage!
Looks like so much fun!! I’ve never been to the west coast!
I hope you make it over here sometime soon!
I have read the book, but have never watched a production of the book…I bet it was outstanding, wish I could have seen it!
It was simply magical and engaged my son the whole time!
Looks like such a great time! My husband studied set and costume design on uni, looks like the set on this one was great!
YES! He would probably give it his stamp of approval!
I adore live theatre! Such a great experience for children of all ages.
I agree! The arts are so important for kids!
I love penguins and would love seeing this show with my boys. I love that they geared this show towards kids.
It’s such a fun show and the penguin puppets are adorable!
Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a fantastic holiday production. I would love to go see it in person. It is a great cause to support.
Yes, Seattle Children’s Theatre has made an impact on so many local kids!
What a beautiful opportunity and fun time for the kids! I love the book Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I bet that was a fun production!
It was beautifully done!
This sounds like so much fun! My kids loved that movie!!
We’re going to check out the movie to see what they do differently!
gooooaaals, i wish i could just have my child right now and take him through this experience!
I’m sure he’d love that!
This is so cool!!! I would love to see a theatrical performance of this fabulous show. Thanks for sharing!
It was really well done!
Oh what fun! I wish this was closer to where I lived. I’d love to go.
I hope another production comes near you!
This looks like such a cute show! My daughter is going to see Elf soon by us and she is so excited for that. We don’t have this playing anywhere.
My husband and I saw Elf a couple of years ago and it was AWESOME! I hope you have fun!
Wow sounds like a great show to take the kids to! I loved going to the theatre growing up.
I think the arts are just so important! The sooner kids get exposed to the arts, the better!
Great idea for a fun family evening. My kids have always loved seeing shows at the theatre.
It’s such a fun experience! I love that this show was just over an hour long, so it was perfect for my preschooler!
I cannot recall reading this book… And there is a movie too, right? Man, I am behind LOL!
I didn’t remember the book and I only discovered the movie after we watched the show!
I think it’s wonderful that there are more theater shows for kids. My sons had a hard time sitting through the Nutcracker so we tended to go just 2 or 3 years apart.
Yes! I’ve been thinking about taking my 4yo to see the Nutcracker, but I remember getting bored as a 3rd grader (and I was a dancer!) This show was just over an hour!
So nice to see children enjoying the theater. I have been taking my now grown children since they were little also.
It’s such a special gift to expose children to the arts at an early age!
Wow! It is super wonderful to see children enjoying the arts like this. This looks like a great show.
It was fantastic! Can’t wait to take my kids to more shows!
I wish that was playing near me., This is one of our favorite books. My kids would adore this.
It’s such a classic book! Hopefully one of your local theatres will bring it to life!
This sounds like such a great opportunity for the little ones to see love theater. My kids loved seeing performances like this.
There’s something truly magical about live theatre!
Aww this is so adorable! I know the kids would love it! We’re planning to do the Nutcracker this year.
Awesome! I’m waiting a bit longer to take my kids to the Nutcracker, but I’m so excited to do that one year!
Awesome! Penguin are so cute and I would love to watch this show with my little brother. Thanks for sharing!
There were SO many penguin puppets/stuffed animals that it was quite entertaining!
I would love to see this show.’it looks like it would be so animated. Love to bring my friend and her daughters to it.
It was quite lively and kept our attention the whole time!
What a wonderful experience! I love taking my little one to the theater. We took her to her first show when she was two and we haven’t missed a Summer production by our local theater company since!
Yay! So glad you’re doing that! I’m hoping to take my kids to more summer productions from our local theatres!
My heart is easily captured by penguis! Am sure I will love this play and even my sister.
Penguins are one of the cutest animals!
This is awesome to know and something I would definitely share with the kids I know
There is so much holiday cheer packed into Downtown Seattle this year!