THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW Celebrates 100th Performance This Weekend

The Drama Desk and Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominated show The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show will celebrate their 100th show in NYC on July 9, 2016 at 12pm at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street). The 100th Show will be followed by reception fit for a Very Hungry Caterpillar. Tickets are $49.75* - $67.25 (Premium Seats) and can be purchased by visiting Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200.

After its successful Australian run, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show began its run in NYC in January. It sold out and soon had to look for a larger venue to accommodate the demand, on June 11 the show took over Theatre Row's Acorn theatre. The show has played over 250 performances worldwide to date and recently announced its UK tour will begin this September.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show will also feature Autism Friendly shows (Friday, July 8 & September 9 at 11am); and Spanish Language shows (Saturday, August 13 & October 8 at 12pm).

"We are so excited that audiences and critics alike have enjoyed and embraced our show. Our new venue on 42nd Street is perfect for the visual artistry of Eric Carle that comes to life in each performance. We look forward to celebrating many more shows in NYC," said Producer/Creator Jonathan Rockefeller.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, features a menagerie of 75 enchanting puppets during a magical 60-minute show that faithfully adapts four of Eric Carle's beloved books for the stage: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Mister Seahorse, The Very Lonely Firefly and, of course, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Cast includes: Jake Bazel (TV: "Sesame Street." National Tour: Jim Henson's
Dinosaur Train Live!), Ariel Lauryn (Theatre: The Golden Toad Part IV, The Firebugs), Mindy Leanse (Theatre: Puppet Titus Andronicus, National Tour: Jim Henson's Dinosaur
Train Live!), Weston Long (John Tartaglia's Imaginocean!), Kayla Prestel (The Actors Project, The Morningtime of Now). Creative team Jonathan Rockefeller (Director), Nate Edmondson (Original Music), The Puppet Kitchen (Puppets), Cesa Entertainment (General Management).

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as nibbled its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into 62 languages and sold over 41 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 132 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, Eric Carle moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old; he was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart. But his dream was always to return to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories. So, in 1952, with a fine portfolio in hand and forty dollars in his pocket, he arrived in New York. Soon he found a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. Later, he was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.

One day, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr called to ask Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Martin's eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. It is still a favorite with children everywhere. This was the beginning of Eric Carle's true vocation. Soon Eric Carle was writing his own stories, too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon afterward by the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Eric Carle's art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His artwork is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension-die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, giving them a playful quality: a toy that can be read, a book that can be touched. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations. He is contacted by hundreds of his fans and young admirers each week.

The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature-an interest shared by most small children. Besides being beautiful and entertaining, his books always offer the child the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience. (Click here for a list of Awards Eric Carle has won for his work.)

Jonathan Rockefeller (Creator) is the co-founder of Rockefeller Productions, a company that combines film, theatre, animation, puppetry and television. He also devotes time to philanthropic work furthering childhood literacy and appreciation of the arts.

The production of 'THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR SHOW' debuted to a sell-out season at the Sydney Festival January 2015, and will continue to tour Australia and New Zealand through 2017. Prior to his work with Eric Carle, Jonathan co-wrote and produced the puppet-parody 'Thank You for Being a Friend' which has been licensed for further productions worldwide. This year Jonathan was selected as a 'Men of Influence' by Men's Style Australia for his work in children's theater and literacy. Beyond the stage, Jonathan and Eric Carle Studios teamed up to produce and direct an animated version of '10 Little Rubber Ducks' based on Eric Carle's book of the same name and narrated by Bernadette Peters. The animation made its film festival debut at the UK's Bath Film Festival last December and has since screened at six festivals.

Other previous projects include the documentary 'Road to Pride Rock: The Making of the Lion King' and the screenplay 'Coming of Age' developed with Screen New South Wales and the Dungog Film Festival's In the Raw program. Accolades include Cannes Lion nomination, in addition to multiple Clio and Media Awards, High Commendations at Australian Cinematographer's Guild [ASC], Best Television Current Affairs at the National Media Awards for an unvarnished documentary about life on the street in 'Boy from the Blue Room', and 'Best Unproduced Screenplay' at the Aus MTV Awards for 'Satisfaction', a satirical tale of becoming an assistant on the 'world's most expensive perfume commercial'.

By complete coincidence, Jonathan was a protégé of Baz Luhrmann, with a career that began during film school. At age 17, he convinced his formidable mentor to take him on as an apprentice by literally sitting in a gutter outside Baz's house with an ambitious cardboard sign declaring 'Bazmark or Bust'. Jonathan worked with Baz on the US production of La Boheme and the Chanel No 5 commercial featuring Nicole Kidman.

For more information, visit HungryCaterpillarShow.com.

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

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