This month First Stage Children’s Theater presents a production aimed at the youngest of audiences. Suitable for ages 3 to 6, Aesop’s Fables pairs talented comic actors Matt Daniels and Karen Estrada with two First Stage students. The well-balanced cast plays a group of vaudevillians performing classic fables, including The Tortoise and the Hare and a particularly clever staging of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Daniels brings a pleasant, commanding presence to the show. His enthusiasm and affable demeanor keep his performance as a wolf from being frightening to small children. Estrada’s unique comic voice is put to excellent use as a shy, reluctant performer struggling to overcome her stage fright. The production is well conceived on many levels. In addition to being entertaining for a young audience that may be seeing live theater for the first time, it allows students to learn from professional actors in a short play.
First Stage’s production of Aesop’s Fables runs through Oct. 17 at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.
