First Stage's "Go Dog Go!" Delights Audiences, A Must-See Musical for Young Children

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First Stage unleashes a clown car of dogs in this bilingual show for kids

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Bring your best “ bark! ” down to the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC) for First Stage’s production of Go Dog Go! / Ve Perro ¡Ve! This delightful 60-minute, no-intermission musical romp – geared toward ages 3 and up – sure gets little tails wagging. Good news for grown-ups: you’ll get a kick out of it too.

Under the direction of Michelle LoRicco and music director Jessica Marks , this bilingual staging of the P.D. Eastman book (adapted by Allison Gregory and Steven Dietz with music by Michel Koerner) is a faithful retelling. Simple phrases like “big dog, little dog” and “a red dog on a blue tree” and “dogs going around in cars” are brought to life in a series of comical vignettes.

The basic sentence structure of the book is perfect for building toddler vocabulary: up and down, over and under, in and out. The play translates the book’s silly scenarios and lessons in prepositions into clown-like choreography (Samantha D. Montgomery) and a charming, scat-y score (composed by Michael Koerner, translated by Ana Maria Campoy, arranged by Roberston Witmer).

We see dogs at work, dogs under water, dogs in a boat, dogs in cars, dogs at a party, dogs on roller skates. The MC Dog, Sarah Zapiain, is a pitch-perfect leader of the young performer pack. Everything the dogs do and say is stated in both English and Spanish. The movement, action, and costuming is itself a third language – Go Dog Go! / Ve Perro ¡Ve! as much about visual storytelling as it is a vocab lesson.

Sets, costumes, lighting, and sound (Pat LoRicco, Michelle Verbos, Marion Frank, and Martilla Marechal, respectively) converge for a show that’s a treat to experience. Whimsical, larger-than-life props, a jumbo stoplight that goes from red to green to pink, a race track for zooming around – all in the black box that is the MYAC Goodman Mainstage Hall. This is my favorite kind of production for kids: a highly playful one with lots of tangible, eye-popping visuals. Inventive and imaginative – putting the "wow" in " bow wow! "

(L to R) Sarah Zapiain, Valentina Vega, Savannah Carlson, Mia Raines, John Sajdak, and Charlie Machata in Go Dog Go! / Ve Perro ¡Ve!. First Stage, 2026. Photo by Paul Ruffolo.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/milwaukee/article/BWW-Review-First-Stages-GO-DOG-GO-is-a-Musical-Must-for-Little-Pups-20261005)._