'Click Clack Moo' Makes Some Demands At The Emelin This Weekend

MAMARONECK, NY — If you are familiar with the line "Cows that type? Hens on strike! Whoever heard of such a thing," you might be interested in Saturday's show at the Emelin, with two different showtimes to get all the fans in.

TheaterWorks USA will be presenting the musical "Click Clack Moo," based on the award-winning book written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin. The beloved children's book was published in 2000, and was named a Caldecott Honor book in 2001. The National Education Association listed the book on its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" list and it also made the School Library Journal's "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time.

The book is about Farmer Brown's cows who find a typewriter in their barn and write letters to Farmer Brown, making various demands (electric blankets) and then going on strike when Farmer Brown refuses. When the hens also ask for blankets and are refused, they join the strike as well. A neutral duck helps out in the negotiations. At the end, the ducks say that their pond is boring and they would like a diving board, which Farmer Brown agrees to.

In a modern TheaterWorks version of the story, when his granddaughter Jenny comes to visit, Father Brown declares the farm a "tech-free zone." After he confiscates her laptop and stores it in the barn, the chilly cows use it to type messages with their requests. Children will be able to enjoy the hilariously "mooooo-ving" musical, while also learning about negotation and compromise.

"Given TheaterWorksUSA's track record of turning classic kids' lit into magical musicals, Click Clack Moo just reaffirms their reputation," according to Time Out New York Kids.

The New York Times declared the show "a tribute to compromise as well as an introduction to labor relations. It even becomes a lesson in today's economics."

The 60-minute show is recommended for children in kindergarten through fourth grade.

Tickets are $24 for adults and $19 for children 12 and under. For more information and to purchase tickets for the 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. shows this Saturday, click here.