Bert and Ernie, Goodnight! at The Children's Theatre Company on 9/13/09

By: John Olive

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Bradley Greenwald and Reed Sigmund in Bert and Ernie, Goodnight!

I've spent a lot of time in theaters specializing in work for young audiences, but I don't think I have ever experienced young children having as much fun as they did the Sunday afternoon my young companion and I saw Bert and Ernie, Goodnight! at the Children's Theatre Company (2400 Third Avenue S., Minneapolis, 612-874-0400, childrenstheatre.org). The squeals of delight started as the curtain rose to reveal the colorful bedroom and the two single beds, each with the now-famous B and E on the headboards. The kids were slightly taken aback by the CTC actors, Reed Sigmund and Bradley Greenwald – they don't look anything like the actual Sesame Street puppets. But the personalities are spot-on, and this quickly got the audience back on the squirrelly track. The familiar songs sung with grinning gusto (who doesn't remember and love "I Don't Want To Live On The Moon" and "That's What Friends Are For"?), the effortlessly effective comic bits, the dream sequences, all marvelous. When the bubbles came down into the house I was afraid that some of the kids would expire from pure joy. The show is an intermission-free hour and fifteen minutes of wonder. If you're a cynical grownup, well, leave all that in the car. 

Periodically, the stage floor opens up and shivers of expectation gallop through the house. What's going to come up? The puppets we get are simple, but very nicely done: leaping sheep, underwater seaweed and fish, the glowing moon, some furry and very cuddly pigeons. Also excellent are the upside down fire trucks shrieking across the ceiling. The play has an "effects ending" which I won't reveal in this review, except to say it's fabulous. The set/puppet designer, G.W. Mercier, has done lovely work. 

CTC wisely puts all this in the hands of playwright Barry Kornhauser, a young audience stalwart. The dramatic situation is simple: Bert wants desperately to get some sleep and the inimitable Ernie wants to... to celebrate his life, to talk, sing, dance, play with his oversized rubber ducky, finish his poem ("I like flowers / And I like dirt / But most of all / I like... I can’t think of anything!").  In lesser hands, this material would become thin and repetitive, but Kornhauser fills it with great variety, mostly in the form of inventive physical comedy. He imbues the play with genuine build, no small achievement.

Of course, he's helped enormously by the director, Peter Brosius, and by the cast. Under Brosius's guidance, Sigmund and Greenwald play B and E with an over-the-top, stylized fervor which is also sweet and very natural. Their singing is marvelous. Sigmund's Ernie bursts with impish glee and breath-taking energy. Ernie makes the play crackle along. As the ever-suffering Bert, Greenwald is restrained but always tasteful, never succumbing to self-pity. When Ernie finally finishes his poem ("I like Bert") Greenwald's delight is palpable. Wonderful. 

So here's my advice: find some kindergartners, and go. This would be an excellent choice for a first play. Believe me, the kids, and you, will have a good time. 

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Location Info: The Children's Theatre Company
Artist Info: The Children's Theatre Company

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