Danny, the protagonist in The Monster Who Ate My Peas, resists his family’s pressure to eat healthy.
On Sunday, April 3, dozens of children and parents from Wallingford filed into the Paul Mellon Arts Center to watch the musical production, “The Monster Who Ate My Peas.” Based off the multi-award winning children’s book written by Danny Schnitzlein and illustrated by Matthew Faulkner, the show was presented by ArtsPower, a New York-based national touring theater.
Choate typically presents one or two children’s productions during the academic year. Of those, at least one show is performed by a professional theater company. “For many years, that company was NYC’s TheaterWorks USA,” said Ms. Carol Jones, the director of the Young Artists’ Program. “However, this year their touring schedule did not match up with the dates that we had available. So, for the first time, we hosted ArtsPower.”
“Their production is touring all over, so we’re one of the venues they stopped by and shared,” further explained Ms. Kayla Yannatos, Director of the Arts. Choate was the last stop in ArtsPower’s tour.
The performance was organized by Choate’s Young Artists Program, which aims to teach children the fundamentals of various forms of art. “Theater for young people is so very important,” said Ms. Jones. “As an audience member, you make connections and feel a part of something in ways that are not possible when you are watching something on a screen.”
The musical production told the story of Danny, a young boy who refused to eat his peas despite encouragement from his parents and dog. Danny’s dad eventually dressed up as a monster and made a deal with him: in return for eating his peas, Danny would give the monster any one of his possessions. First, it’s his new soccer ball, then his bicycle. But how much was Danny willing to give up before finally facing his fear?
The performance was amusing and lively, including 13 musical and dance numbers throughout the show. The audience also clapped along and told Danny not to trade with the monster anymore, making it very interactive. The ending was humorous but featured an important lesson about the value of will power.
The audience’s responses were overwhelmingly positive. “I liked the whole show,” exclaimed one little girl. Another announced that the show had inspired her to eat peas in the bath tub later, while a young boy told the performers that they were the “best actors he’d ever seen.”
The hour-long performance was capped off by a quick question and answer session with the four actors. Eileen Veghte, who played Danny, showed the audience how they created the illusion of eating peas that were actually plastic. Chris Mauro, who portrayed Danny’s dad and the monster, highlighted the differences between the book and the performance. “A great thing about acting is that we can be whomever we want to be,” concluded Veghte. “I love sharing what I love to do with kids all over the nation — it’s super fun.”
“We strongly believe that the Arts Center is an important bridge to the external community,” added Ms. Yannatos. “It serves first and foremost the Choate community, but it’s an obvious way for Choate to reach out to the surrounding community and ensure that we are welcoming them.”
Indeed, this production was a way for Choate to reach out and give back to the Wallingford community, especially the children currently in the Young Artists Program. As Ms. Jones concludes, “There is so much to learn from observing other performers in addition to practicing and modeling what it means to be an excellent audience member.”
