The Lifeline Theater in Rogers Park is currently presenting its production of Duck for President, a musical based on the best-selling book by Doreen Cronin, illustrations by Betsy Lewin. Rick Kogan sent eight-year-old theater critic Fiona Kogan to the play (slacker!), which runs through November 25.

Here is her review:

The play was about a duck who lived on a farm. He and some other animals decided that they needed a farm election because the farmer was working them too hard. Duck won!  He became the head of the farm! Duck found out running the farm was even harder work because he had even more chores than before. 

So, he decided he would run for governor. He marched in parades and went to town meetings and gave speeches that only other ducks could understand. Duck won again! But he found out that running a state is even harder than running a farm. 

So, he and his staff (the pig, the hen and the cow) worked on a campaign for duck for president. They made commercials, he went on the news – and Duck won again!!! 

Then, he found out that being a president was even harder than running a state, and much, much harder than running a farm! So he left pig in charge of the country and went back to the farm and he was happy.

The play was good because Duck was very funny – and Cow and Hen fought a lot which was also funny. There was one thing that made people laugh a lot – Duck said, “I promise a chicken in every pot!” Hen said, “I don’t get it…” Duck said, “Me neither.” 

After the play my mom asked me if I thought duck was a good president. “No,” I said, “because he made promises that he didn’t keep. And – he said the economy was stupid. But he was funny.”

The person who becomes president should make America better. They would not let people in Chicago get parking tickets. They would make sure the economy gets better. They would give kids the right to vote. If I was president I would make sure that every person in the world gave at least one dollar to a poor person. I would make sure everyone had a home. My saying would be, “Stop the war. Help the poor.”

I would also cancel homework.