A GREAT, GREEN ROOM
YOU’LL NEVER WANT TO LEAVE

Chicago Children’s Theatre closes
out its 20th anniversary season with
a picture(book)-perfect triumph!

Diego Vasquez Gomez, CoCo Gonzalez, Sharriese Hamilton, and Jonah D. Winston

“I wish I might, I wish I may / go live inside my book / to stay in the great, green room”

There have been some remarkably effective immersive sets in Chicago black-box theatres this year: in a Midwestern living room, audiences were subjected to violent domestic abuse (Come Back, Little Sheba); in a cozy studio, we were enveloped by glorious flapper whimsy (The Drowsy Chaperone); and in Charges, the Supplicants, Theatre Y turned us into emotionless overseers of immigrants in a chilling, panopticon-like prison. But as gorgeous and splendidly immersive as these sets were, none hold a candle to the wonder that is Eleanor Kahn’s “great, green room,” created for Chicago Children’s Theatre’s season-ending production of Goodnight Moon, a musical adaptation of the classic Margaret Wise Brown children’s book, with book, music, and lyrics by Chad Henry.

Diego Vazquez Gomez

Taking her inspiration from Clement Hurd’s original illustrations, Kahn turns the entire theatre into Bunny’s bedroom and then enriches it further: the walls are covered with paintings that are childlike but never twee, the furnishings are on point, and the props delightful—the clock on the mantelpiece made me want to squeal in delight every time it spoke; I honestly cannot say why, I just love it so damn much—and a ceiling awash with paper and electric stars, all surrounding an oversized papier-mâché moon, which, despite its rough-hewn surface—or maybe because of it—is the most beautiful aspect of the set. In the center is a slightly elevated oval stage, which serves as a podium for our characters.

Jonah D. Winston

Equally important is Eric Watkins’s complex lighting design, which deploys hyper-specific small spots at warp speed to highlight the inanimate objects in the room as they come alive. Perfectly timed to the music and lyrics, the movement is occasionally so rapid that there were multiple times when the audience, a packed house of children of all ages—there were no “adults” here this morning, self-included—were twisting and turning in glee trying to keep pace with the activity all around the set.

Sharriese Hamilton

Goodnight Moon is an adaptation of two of Brown’s books, adding The Runaway Bunny, as well as a subplot involving a loose tooth—necessary padding, to be sure, given that the entire book—which is about a stubborn bunny who won’t go to bed—runs less than 150 words of text.

CoCo Gonzalez

Henry’s addition of these plotlines is fairly seamless: The Runaway Bunny is incorporated as a story within the story and adds a gentle note of melancholy for the grown-ups, while Bunny’s loose tooth serves as a Chekhovian gun through the first half, and its eventual loss is responsible for the appearance of the funniest Tooth Fairy you’ll ever encounter. The Tooth Fairy, along with several other characters, is played by Jonah D. Winston, who is as tall as he is tuneful—and charming. In an across-the-board superb cast, he gets my vote as first among equals, although Sharriese Hamilton gives him a run for his money, particularly when she’s playing Old Woman. The ensemble is rounded out by CoCo Gonzalez, and Bunny is played by a hyperactive Diego Vazquez Gomez; both very good.

Diego Vazquez Gomez and Sharriese Hamilton

Mikael Burke, who directed the excellent folk horror Oak at Raven last season, is operating in an entirely different genre here and, along with music director Andra Velis Simon, conducts this ensemble and script—and by extension, the audience—with the confidence of a maestro. I could not find a single aspect of the show to ding—and believe you me, I tried.

Jonah D. Winston

Adapting a popular book is always fraught with risk. Adapting a beloved children’s book is even riskier because you have to contend with childhood nostalgia. Adapting a children’s picture book—they rarely run longer than a few hundred words—gives you no margin for error. Given that level of difficulty and the attention spans of their target audience, CCT’s production of Goodnight Moon is a minor miracle. What a way to close out a season; the entire company needs to stand up and take a well-deserved bow.

Diego Vazquez Gomez, Sharriese Hamilton

Also, once the run is completed—now that the season is done—there really is no reason to dismantle that set right away, no? Surely some CCT member’s tyke will have a birthday coming, and what better place for a party.

And be sure to invite me.

Or maybe not—I’d probably refuse to leave and have to be dragged out of that set, kicking and screaming.

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photos by Joe Mazza / Brave Lux Inc.

Goodnight Moon
Chicago Children’s Theatre
100 South Racine, Chicago
Sat & Sun at 9:30am & 11:30am
ends on June 7, 2026
for tickets, call 312.374.8835 or visit CCT or

for more shows, visit Theatre in Chicago

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