Harold and the Purple Crayon

Harold and the Purple Crayon – website

** Note: Harold and the Purple Crayon is at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts through November 4. My experience and observations are based on what we experienced at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts so it’s possible there may be some slight differences.

Location:

The Ruth Page Center for Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago – through November 4
Beverly Arts Center, 2401 W. 111th St. Chicago, IL – November 7 -11
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL – November 14-18

Phone: 773-227-0180

Dates and times:

November 1- November 4

Thursday & Friday, 10:00 am & 6:30 pm
Saturday, 11:00 am & 6:00 pm
Sunday, 11:00 am

November 7-11

Wednesday-Thursday, 10:00 am
Friday, Noon
Saturday-Sunday, 11:00 am & 1:00 pm

November 14-18

Wednesday, 10:00 am & Noon
Friday, 10:00 am, Noon, & 6:30 pm
Sunday, 11:00 am & 2:00 pm

Admission: $16.50-$42.50

Parking:

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts – metered street parking is often available; audience members receive discounted parking ($10 for four hours) at the self-park garage located at Division and Dearborn with ticket validation. Public transportation is available.
The Beverly Arts Center – a parking lot is available. Public transportation is available.
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts – free parking is available in the theatre parking lot and in a parking garage.

Bathrooms: The Ruth Page Center had a large private bathroom that is handicapped accessible, but there was no changing table.

Nursing: There was no designated nursing area at the Ruth Page Center.

Handicapped/stroller accessibility:

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is handicapped accessible. You can bring strollers and there was an area in the lobby for stroller parking.
The Beverly Arts Center (according to their website) – Fully equipped for handicap access including an elevator, handicapped parking, and handicap seating.
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts (according to their website) – The building features convenient and accessible drop-off points located at the West and North entrances as well as numerous accessible parking spaces. Both theatres feature wheelchair accessible seating locations, for patrons who wish to remain in the wheelchair, or transfer out of the wheelchair into a theatre seat. These seats are also available to be used by companions of patrons who are using wheelchairs. For patrons wishing to transfer to theatre seats, House Management will gladly store walkers and wheelchairs during the performance and bring them to patrons at intermissions and after the show. All six washrooms, the box office windows and the concession stand are wheelchair accessible as well. If you require accessible seating due to limited mobility, please ask your ticket agent for availability.

Other features:

The programs include a special activity book and each child receives a purple Crayola crayon.
There was a large wooden Harold and the Purple Crayon cutout for pictures.

CCT - Harold & the Purple Crayon - Dexter - Toddling Around Chicagoland

Special events:

Friday, November 2 at 6:30 pm – post-show pajama party with Wishcraft

We paid: We received complimentary tickets. Tickets for me and the two boys would have been approximately $88. Metered parking was $3.50 an hour.

Our experience:

This was our fifth Chicago Children’s Theatre show and we’ve never been disappointed. Harold and the Purple Crayon has been one of my favorite books since I was a kid and my boys like it a lot too. Cooper is obsessed with drawing and the idea of drawings and his imagination coming to life so this was really the perfect show for him.

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is a new home for Chicago Children’s Theatre shows so I was excited to check it out. I attended a Tuesday morning show with Cooper and Dexter. We arrived later than I would have liked because of some street construction, but found a metered parking space right across the street from the theatre. We had just enough time to go in, get our tickets and programs, and get settled into our seats before the show started. Before the official start of the show the actors came out and mingled with the kids in the audience and the band played music. The actors encouraged the kids to clap along to the music and got the audience warmed up for the show.

In case you aren’t familiar with Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harold is a kid who creates his own adventures with his purple crayon. He finds trouble and gets himself out of it all with his drawings, and then finds his was back home.

Three actors play all the roles in Harold and the Purple Crayon, plus there is a band on stage. The set is made up of large white clouds and projectors are used to bring Harold’s pictures to life.

The show started with a couple songs and I have to admit, I was a little concerned; the songs were good and the actors were great, but I was afraid the show would be all songs and it would start to feel a bit slow. Thankfully it picked up a lot after that.

The set and props are fantastic and really add to the show. As Harold “draws” on his paper with his giant crayon, the drawings appear behind him on the clouds, and many of the drawings come to life as creative props. Harold goes to different worlds – underwater, in space, and even on the planet of the crayon eaters – and meets interesting characters.

I don’t want to give away too much of the show, but we really enjoyed it. The kids laughed and smiled throughout the show and told me they liked it afterwards.