Embark on a musical adventure across Lake Michigan! The Goodman’s latest Theater for the Very Young (TVY) production, Splish Splash: A Day on the Lake—a musical adventure developed for theatergoers ages 0-5 and their adult friends and family—begins performances next month. Co-directed by Jamal Howard (The Lizard y El Sol) and Ellie Levine (Threshold's RAIN at Filament Theatre), Splish Splash was created in a collaboration with Northwestern University’s Imagine U, Northwestern undergraduate students and 2- to 5-year-olds from Total Child Preschool in Evanston. The cast includes Kylie Anderson (BOOK UP!), Sonia Goldberg (Kokandy Productions’ Amélie), Tina Muñoz Pandya (The Matchbox Magic Flute) and Michael-Ellen (Mikey) Walden (Refracted Theatre Company’s Tambo & Bones). The production will appear 12 times across two weekends in the Alice Center for Education and Engagement. Previous TVY productions include BOOK UP! (2025), The Lizard Y El Sol (2024) and In My Granny's Garden (2023).
Splish Splash: A Day on the Lake appears at The Goodman’s Alice Center over two weekends: February 28, March 1, March 7 and March 8 at 10am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm. For tickets ($13 adults 18+; $18 kids 12 months-17 years; 12 months and younger free), visit the Box Office (170 N. Dearborn), call 312.443.3800 or purchase online at GoodmanTheatre.org/Splash. The Goodman is grateful for the support of Wintrust Commercial Bank (Community Programs Sponsor) and Kirkland & Ellis, LLP (Arts in Community Sponsor).
“This show is all about community and how helping new friends can lead to all of us achieving a larger goal,” said co-director Jamal Howard, The Goodman’s 2023/2024 Michael Maggio Directing Fellow. “Empathy is one of the most important things an audience can gain from participating in theater, and Splish Splash provides space for young people to learn about and exemplify empathy. By helping the different animal characters found in our Lake Michigan adventure, we feel how empathy can empower a community and how a high tide can raise all boats.”
“Through weekly workshops with our youngest collaborators, the ideas of the preschoolers from Total Child Preschool shaped every element of Splish Splash,” said co-director Ellie Levine. “This agency in the creative process is mirrored for the young audience members who come to see the show. They will play an active role in helping our characters move through the story.”
When the moon tumbles into the lake and breaks into pieces, it’s up to a brave crew of young sailors to help the Great Blue Heron and their friends—Crayfish, Beaver, Turtle and Yellow Perch—put it back together again. Through songs, puppetry and joyful hands-on play, little ones and their grown-ups will dive into an underwater world of wildlife, wonder and waves.
“Splish Splash reflects our deep belief that Theater for the Very Young is not a smaller version of theater, but a richly intentional art form in its own right,” said Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot. “In partnership with Northwestern University, we’ve created an experience that honors how young children learn—through sensory exploration, movement and shared discovery. This production is designed as a child’s first encounter with live performance: welcoming and filled with moments of surprise and delight. It’s an exciting example of what’s possible when artists, educators and young audiences are placed at the center of the creative process together.”
Full company of Splish Splash: A Day on the Lake (in alphabetical order)
Developed in collaboration with Northwestern University's Imagine U
Co-directed by Jamal Howard and Ellie Levine
Kylie Anderson...Splash/Teaching Artist
Sonia Goldberg...Splish/Teaching Artist
Tina Muñoz Pandya...Blue Heron
Michael-Ellen (Mikey) Walden...Ensemble
CREATIVE TEAM
Set/Props/Costume Designer...Jillian Gryzlak
Sound Designer...Stephen Moore
Line Producer...Jared Bellot
Production Associate...Jojo Wallenberg
Production Assistant...Lauren Westfahl
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA.
ABOUT THE GOODMAN
Since 1925, The Goodman has been more than a stage. A theatrical home for artists and a gathering space for community, it’s where stories come to life—bold in artistry and rich in history, deeply rooted in the city it serves.
Led by Walter Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director John Collins, The Goodman sparks conversation, connection and change through new plays, reimagined classics and large-scale musicals. With distinctions including nearly 200 world or American premieres, two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and nearly 200 Joseph Jefferson Awards, The Goodman is proud to be the first theater to produce all 10 plays of August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” In addition, the theater frequently serves as a production partner—with national and international companies to Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters—to help amplify theatrical voices.
But The Goodman believes a more empathetic, more connected Chicago is created one story at a time, and counts as its greatest legacy the community it’s built. Generation-spanning productions and programs offer theater for a lifetime; from Theater for the Very Young (plays designed for ages 0-5) to the long-running annual A Christmas Carol, which has introduced new generations to theater over five decades, The Goodman is committed to being an asset for all of Chicago. Education and Engagement programs led by Clifford Director of Education and Engagement Jared Bellot and housed in the Alice Rapoport Center use the tools of theater to spark imagination, reflection and belonging. Each year, these programs reach thousands of people (85% from underserved communities) as well as educators, artists and lifelong learners across the city.
The Goodman stands on the unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations—and acknowledges the many other Nations for whom this land now called Chicago has long been home, including the Myaamia, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten. The Goodman is proud to partner with the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum (Gichigamiin-Museum.org) and the Center for Native Futures (CenterForNativeFutures.org)—organizations devoted to honoring Indigenous stories, preserving cultural memory, and deepening public understanding.
The Goodman was founded by William O. Goodman and his family to honor the memory of Kenneth Sawyer Goodman—a visionary playwright whose bold ideas helped shape Chicago’s early cultural renaissance. That spirit of creativity and generosity endures today. In 2000, through the commitment of Mr. Goodman’s descendants—Albert Ivar Goodman and his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton—The Goodman opened the doors to its current home in the heart of the Loop.
Marsha Cruzan is Chair of the Goodman Theatre Board of Trustees; Diane Landgren is Women’s Board President; and Kelli Garcia is president of the Scenemakers Board for Young Professionals.