"The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show" comes to Kirkwood

Metro Theater Company (MTC) presents the global sensation, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show on an outdoor stage at Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, April 25 - May 16, 2021.

Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, this live, outdoor and bilingual production brings Eric Carle’s beautifully imaginative stories to life.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show / La Oruga Muy Hambrienta Espectáculo is a dazzling, critically acclaimed production, featuring a menagerie of more than 75 larger-than-life, magical puppets. Friends from three other iconic Eric Carle picture books—Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, and The Very Lonely Firefly—join everyone’s favorite caterpillar. Audiences can revisit these timeless classics with the young ones in their lives as St. Louis celebrates the return of live professional theater. This music-filled experience coupled with unique and enchanting puppets, evokes nostalgia and whimsy in audience members of all ages.

MTC's staging of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show / La Oruga Muy Hambrienta Espectáculo is also an English-Spanish bilingual production, making it a joy for language learners of every age!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been performed more than 2,000 times worldwide, including sold-out runs in Australia, New York, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Dubai, and across Europe. Now, Metro Theater Company presents the sensational event, with an all-St. Louis cast of performers, on an outdoor stage on the lawn at the brand new Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.

Audiences will be seated on the gated lawn in socially distant pods sized to accommodate groups of 2-8 persons. Outdoor seating pods start at $56.

A virtual streaming option of the St. Louis production is also available for audiences across nine states in the Midwest. Online virtual streaming is $20.

Metro Theater Company is committed to ensure that economic barriers do not prevent families from experiencing its programs. MTC is offering a three-day pay-what-you-can viewing period April 28 – 30 for both virtual streaming and in-person performances. Pay-what-you-can tickets will be available for purchase starting April 1.

Tickets can be purchased at metroplays.org.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show is a 60-minute production with no intermission. The production is recommended for all ages.

The New York Times calls The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show “bedazzling… will mesmerize audiences.” Time Out says “beautiful, rhythmic, and faithful to the author’s works.” The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Off-Broadway Alliance Award.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show all-St. Louis cast includes Jamie McKittrick, Hailey Medrano, and Gaby Rodriguez. Eleanor Humphrey is the offstage puppeteer and assistant stage manager. Metro Theater Company Artistic Director Julia Flood directs the production and Jimmy Bernatowicz is the stage manager.

Metro Theater Company has been approved as Missouri ArtSafe Certified. Policies have been updated to protect all patrons from COVID-19 exposure risks, including required mask wearing for ages 2 and over; temperature checks upon entry; contactless ticketing and digital-only Playbills. The outdoor socially distant seating pods are also at least 6 feet apart. For more information on Metro Theater Company's COVID health policies, please visit metroplays.org/COVID.

For more information, visit http://metroplays.org