Chicago Children's Theatre — Attraction in West Chicago Township

An Epic tale of scale is an epic fail. Poor props, lack of plot, lack of vision. I hope no little child who went will think this is theater. I brought my 8 year old to this experience. You go through a series of spaces in smaller groups looking for "a thing". We started by walking into a "shop" full of curious objects with another group. The shop keeper said his lines, to the first group, they were whisked away and... he started his lines from the top to us! As if we were not standing there just now! We were then taken through series of spaces representing the body. The props were best suited for about 3-4 year olds. Think two foot "zit" climbing wall (not sure why it was inside the stomach) and an intestin "bopping" table. The elevator was fun though. They made no effort to better conceal the spaces. You are walking through hallway with offices around and you are going to a set of stairs with props sitting around. Looked more like our school after a project was being taken apart. We then went into a room where the previous group was finishing working on three stations with some projects. As we got started on the stations, someone came in and invited us into the next space. I questioned the invitation because we were not finished yet and I was told we could stay behind but it would be a loooong wait. So we went on to watch the other group feed some messages they made to some creature in space. We just stood there watching them and listening to some youtube jokes. So 4 year old props, 8 year old content, 11 year old jokes. At the end, I have no idea what the connection was between the shop, body systems and space. I don't know if we found "the thing" and what...

I chaperoned a field trip to see Carmela Full of Wishes and the show was a delight. The space is intimate yet exactly the size needed to keep the kiddos engaged. The cast of actors were only 4 deep, but each performed their role (or roles!) beautifully. The story was sweet and every kid I spoke to (an adult) enjoyed themselves.

To the non-show related portion of this review, the theater had a lot going for it.

Before it began, there was a sort of waiting area, filled with tables and chairs where the kids could chill out and relax. There was also a smaller niche carved out with some benches as well as duplo bricks for the kids to enjoy.

The seating inside had more of these benches as well as armed chairs so the adults can be off to the sides or sit with more back support.

For me, however, the bench was the way to go. The arms on the chairs did not look the most welcoming cause I'm a bit larger. The benches were not the standard flat planks but more of a wave. Lower wave in the front, middle dip, taller wave in the back. I had to sort of cross my legs to account for the benches being sized for wee ones, but I was surprisingly comfortable the whole show.

Great little theater that easily held our classes and a class from another school. Great show. Would heartily recommend, and hopefully you can enjoy Carmela before the show leaves...

We took our son, who has special needs and a wheelchair, to the play of his most favorite characters: Arnold Lobel's Frog & Toad! He enjoyed it so much and kept smiling throughout. Kudos to Chicago Children's Theater for their inclusive children's theater experience: They had on site free disability parking, a ramp for wheelchair accessible entry, and the best seat in the house reserved for me, my husband and my son (and his wheelchair). The staff were very helpful and kind. We truly cherished this experience and are so grateful he got to experience this...