This is an absolute marvelous bit of silly! Yes!!
But before we dip into the fun, let’s talk about the serious stuff. This is a bilingual play and it’s Spanish title is Ve Perro Ve! Don’t let this intimidate you. There is no actual story and no complex dialogue. And most every line is spoken in English and then Spanish or in Spanish and then English. So worst case scenario, you learn a few more vocabulary words. And quite frankly, the story will unfold and you will have just as much fun even if you don’t speak either language.
This is the opening show in First Stage’s 40th Year. And they’ve stumped me again by presenting a play based on a children’s book that I was not familiar with. A very popular book written by P. D. Eastman which has been adapted for the stage by Allison Gregory and Steven Dietz. The work was translated by Ana Maria Campoy. This is indeed a musical and the music was composed by Michael Koerner.
So let’s get back to this marvelous bit of silly that director Michelle LoRicco has brought to the stage. First, this show is recommended for age 3 and up and LoRicco has certainly channeled her best three year old self and has clearly communicated with my inner three year old. Bravo! What that means is this show is fast moving and bright and playful and the music is warm and sincere and silly! How LoRicco blended all of the personalities of the characters and the music and the limited story is a delight for sore eyes. So I said story and no story? Well:
There are seven characters in Ve Perro Ve! All seven of them are dogs: red dog and blue dog and yellow dog and green dog and MC dog and spotted dog and Hattie. And maybe you could say this play is tri-lingual because sometimes the dogs speak or sing in English, and then Spanish, and sometimes in just, well…dog. And the story is just a series of skits or events that seamlessly flow from one to another. And our dogs work hard building things with their prop hammers and saws and screwdrivers. One of the best bits in the work session is riveting (pun intended), as each dog takes a turn trying to control a jack hammer. High humor indeed.
Other bits include a game of baseball, played for high humor, and high action. A car race! A visit to a carnival with a Ferris Wheel and roller coaster. A swimming session. I didn’t know that dogs could climb trees, but our favorites here manage to do exactly that. And a particularly apt segment for all of the parents and grandparents in the audience, is when the MC Dog tries to get all of the other dogs to call it a day and go to sleep, but instead we have dogs at play!
If you have been following my coverage on First Stage or are familiar with them, you know that the plays that feature their younger actors run with two casts. These casts alternate appearance dates. So if you plan on seeing a particular young actor, check in at the links below, and make sure you select a date when they will be performing before you buy your tickets. I saw the El Pequeno cast.
The one character and one actor who will be present in all of the performances is MC Dog played by Sarah Zapiain. Zapiain is the only adult in the room, quite literally. She directs the other dogs in much of the action on stage, tries to get them to go to sleep, and keeps an eye on the red light/green light. She is a perfect MC Dog and just a delight from start (when she plays peek a boo with the audience) to finish in the grand finale. Her effervescence and energy are a joy to watch but keep a close eye on her, she can be subtle in her actions too.
As I said, I saw the El Pequeno cast. As always, their presence and preparation are very professional for any age actors. And this isn’t an easy play to perform, moving almost without let up from one skit to the next. And this is a musical of sorts and their solo and ensemble singing was just wonderful. There is even a song early on that injects some ‘scat style’ non-sense syllable singing and they all nailed it. As a baseball player, I loved Mia Raines’, as Yellow Dog, flawless slide into second during the baseball game. Savannah Carlson as Hattie, certainly stood out as a very confident and skilled actor. After MC Dog, Carlson’s Hattie is a stand out performance.
First Stage’s prop, costume, and set designers are the best in Milwaukee. And they proved it again with Go Dog Go! It’s not that they always produce elaborate sets and costumes, but they often do. But that they always provide absolutely spot on sets and costumes that propel the story along while just using the minimum of attributes to identify the character or the scene. And their use of color is fascinating.
And for Go Dog Go!, the music was a delight as well. Driven by an accordion from that open peek a boo session to the grand dance finale, it fit the mood and action perfectly. At times the accordion was augmented with some percussion and a woodwind or two. And the music set the scene without being obvious but we would certainly miss it if it wasn’t there. That’s the sign of great music. Jessica Marks is the music director for Go Dog Go. It is her first First Stage appearance and welcome, I loved the music here.
So, let’s get back to the environment for just a moment. The Goodman Mainstage at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center is theater in the round. So there is seating on all sides of the stage and the audience is never more than four rows away from the action. And for Go Dog Go!, the chairs for the first two rows have been removed and replaced with carpet squares so that younger guests can be closer to the action and squirm and wiggle to their heart’s content. The stage for Go Dog Go! is a simple raised oval dome, brightly painted with a street motif around the edges and a green space in the center.
This provides just the right setting for the ball game, car race, and sleep scenes. And is open enough to allow the entire ensemble to dance and move about freely as they tell their story. And how do I know that this all works? I just watched the preschoolers and elementary age children on those carpet squares around the room. They are completely entranced and engaged for the entire play. That was fun to see. The singing is made up of conversational songs or simple ensemble tunes, no boring arias to pull them out of the magic. And at the very end for just a few moments, the cast invited the audience on stage to join in the final dance segment. Fun to watch? Yes! But the real fun was seeing some children want to participate but afraid to go on stage, some just rushing out there, and the one little girl who had to be coaxed back to her seat by her brother when it was over! First Stage shows are always good theater and I enjoy that. But, as parent and grandparent, watching young people interact with theater is very rewarding too.
This show is for audiences of age 3 and up. And as I said above, these young people were fully engaged throughout the show. And at just an hour, they won’t have time to get restless or bored. So if you are thinking about introducing a youngster to theater for the first time or bringing them to a new show, Go Dog Go! : Ve Perro Ve! is the one for you!
First Stage will be presenting Go Dog Go! from now through November 1, 2026 at the Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center just north of the Deer District. There is an adjacent free parking lot. Runtime: The runtime of this play is: approx. 60 minutes, with no intermission. The age recommendation of this play is: We recommend this show for ages 3+.
More information here! And ticket information here!
Extra Credit Reading: The Enrichment Guide
