Green Means Go—To the Theater

Celebrate Earth Day by seeing “It’s Not Mean To Be Green—The Musical.” Plus, a foreign film fest shines in Bethany, Newark’s Chapel Street Players tackle Neil Simon, the Delaware Children’s Museum opens its doors on the Riverfront, and Dover Days and its famous Maypole set the capital spinning.

To a child, the color green is less about recycling, more about monsters and witches. Or so Jamie Kleman discovered when she asked her 5-year-old son what going green meant to him. His answers prompted the Landenberg, Pennsylvania, resident to write “It’s Not Mean To Be Green,” a children’s book in rhyme. To kick off the week of Earth Day, “It’s Not Mean To Be Green—The Musical” hits the DuPont Theatre. Kleman wrote the lyrics, and her husband, Bill, helped write some of the music. Their children, Will and Abby, and their pals contributed moves to the “Go Green Dance,” the play’s finale. Productions will raise funds for outdoor classrooms. “Children need to reconnect with the outdoors and get away from computers and television,” Kleman says. “They need to learn how to care for and nourish nature.” Performances are April 18-20. Call (800) 338-0881, or 656-4401, or visit duponttheatre.com, or itsnotmeantobegreen.com. —Pam George 

Page 2: Big-time Kool Kid Stuff
 

Juile W. Van Blarcom is the museum’s executive director. The Stratosphere (below) is 24 feet tall and wheelchair-accessible. Photograph by Jared CastaldiBig-time Kool Kid Stuff

The highly anticipated Delaware Children’s Museum opens its doors on April 24, and you can bet your flash cards that this $12.5 million, 37,000-square-foot fun zone will rival any kid-related space in the region. Interactive exhibits will build imaginations through math-, science- and technology-based learning, but to children, it will simply be super cool stuff. The Stratosphere is a 24-foot-tall, wheelchair-accessible edifice that looks like the Battlestar Galactica with the fun factor of The Muppets’ USS Swinetrek. In the Bank on It Room, budding stockbrokers can squirm through a pneumatic tube disguised as the drive-through window of the branch office. In Studio D (D for Delaware), children under 5 can get creative while older kids enjoy weaving, printmaking, sculpting and painting. Executive director Julie W. Van Blarcom expects the opening to be one big buzz. “Kids and parents are going to vibrate with joy and enthusiasm,” she says. For more, visit delawarechildrensmuseum.org, or call 654-2340.   —Maria Hess

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Page 3: Book the Suite
 

Book the Suite

Rounding out Chapel Street Theatre’s 75th season is Neil Simon’s “California Suite,” which will run through May 1. The play follows five couples who book the same Beverly Hills Hotel suite at different times. Like many of the Pulitzer Prize winner’s works, “Suite” is hilarious but bittersweet, blending such topics as adultery and custody battles with witty and poignant banter. The words comic genius may often be tossed around too casually, but in Simon’s case, they apply. For more, visit chapelstreetplayers.org, or call 368-2248.

Page 4: A Capital Venture
 

 A Capital Venture

Dover officials are hoping for a sunny weekend April 30-May 2, when they expect thousands to visit the 77th Annual Dover Days Festival. New this year is Native American dancing and encampments built around Renaissance, Civil War and World War II themes. There will be Maypole dancing and live music, as always, as well as 130 arts and crafts vendors. A countywide tour will lead participants through several historic homes. And the parades—human and pet—will be bigger than ever. For more, log on to visitdover.com, or call 734-1736.

Page 5: Bethany Film Fest
 

Bethany Film Fest

The Foreign Film Festival at the South Coastal Library and Cultural Center in Bethany Beach is set for April 6. Catch the award-winning Iranian film “For My Father” by Dror Zahavi—and see the result of a $2 million renovation that doubled the library’s size and includes a new audiovisual system. “That means you’ll never have to squint to read the subtitles,” says library director Susanne Keefe. For more, call 539-5231, or visit southcoastal.lib.de.us. 
 

 

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