Alliance to Premiere Beloved Children's Story, THE DANCING GRANNY

The ALLIANCE THEATRE has announce its upcoming world premiere production, The Dancing Granny. Based on the children's book by Newbery Honor winner Ashley Bryan, The Dancing Granny comes to life with exciting music and movement in this family-friendly, one-act production, at three locations June 10 - July 16, 2017.

At a young age, children's book author and artist Ashley Bryan noticed a lack of children's books with African American characters. Bryan has been committed to filling that void in black representation by creating books about the African and African American experiences for 50 years. His books include a dizzying array of styles that reflect a wide variety of influences, from African folktales to jazz and poetry. Bryan's works include The Dancing Granny, Beautiful Blackbird, Beat the Story-Drum, Sail Away and his 2016 book Freedom Over Me, which was awarded the Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.

In The Dancing Granny, Ananse, the clever spider of African folklore, tries to trick Granny into dancing away from her garden so he can take her vegetables. But his plan backfires when he is drawn into the dance himself!

The Dancing Granny is being adapted for the stage by Jiréh Breon Holder, 2017 winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition for his play Too Heavy for Your Pocket. The Dancing Granny will be directed by Leora Morris, the Alliance Yale Directing Fellow. The creative team also includes Sound Designer Clay Benning, Costume Designer Jeff Cone, Puppet Designer Carole D'Agostino, Choreographer Ameenah Kaplan, Lighting Designer Ken Yunker, and Set Designer Christopher Thompson.

The cast for The Dancing Granny includes Akumba Bynum-Roberson (dancer, drummer, and actor) as Sun, Ameenah Kaplan (musician, choreographer, actor whose credits include TV's The Office) as the Dancing Granny, Chani Maisonet (singer, dancer, actor whose credits include Simply Simone and In the Heights at Theatrical Outfit/Aurora Theatre) as Wind, BreAnna Ross (dancer, actor) as Earth, and Benjamin DeWitt Sims as Spider/Old Man.

In conjunction with this production, the High Museum of Art will present Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan (April 1, 2017 - January 21, 2018) featuring more than 70 original artworks from 20 of his books, including dynamic ink drawings from The Dancing Granny and colorful cut-paper collages from Beautiful Blackbird. Also on view is a selection of paintings from Bryan's powerful new title and Newbury Honor winner, Freedom Over Me.

PERFORMANCE LOCATIONS, DATES, & TIMES:

Oglethorpe University, Conant Performing Arts Center

4484 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30319

Saturday, June 10, 11:00 a.m.; Sunday, June 11, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday - Friday, June 13 - 16, 10:00 a.m. & 11:45 a.m.; Saturday, June 17, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; and Sunday, June 18, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.

The Galloway School

215 W. Wieuca Road, NW, Atlanta, GA 30342

Saturday, June 24, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; Sunday, June 25, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday - Friday, June 27 - 30, 10:00 a.m. & 11:45 a.m.; Saturday, July 1, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; and Sunday, July 2, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.

Spelman College, Rockefeller Fine Arts Building, Baldwin Burroughs Theater

420 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA 30310

Saturday, July 8, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; Sunday, July 9, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.; Tuesday - Friday, July 11 - 14, 10:00 a.m. & 11:45 a.m.; July 15, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; July 16, 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m.

Individual tickets for The Dancing Granny are $15 for adults, $8 for children 6 - 17, and FREE for children 5 and under. Tickets for The Dancing Granny are available at The Woodruff Arts Center Box Office, by calling 404.733.5000, or online at www.alliancetheatre.org/granny.

Groups of 10+ receive discounts on the price of tickets and are not charged for box office fees. Call 404.733.4690.

The Alliance thanks military families with 15% off regularly priced tickets to Alliance Stage and Hertz Stage productions. Military ID must be shown when picking up or ordering tickets at the Box Office. This offer is based on availability and cannot be combined with other offers.

Any middle school or high school student can attend any performance for just $10. Look for the "teen" price when selecting your seats online. A valid/current student ID must be presented when picking up tickets at will call. Not all seating sections are available with this offer. A maximum of 4 tickets per order may be purchased with this discount.

Tickets for Teachers is a unique program that provides educators with valid teachers ID free tickets for select early performances of all ALLIANCE THEATRE productions. Performances offered for The Dancing Granny are - 6/10, 11:00 a.m.; 6/11, 1:00 p.m.; 6/24, 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.; 6/25, 1:00 p.m.; 7/8, 11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.; 7/9, 1:00 p.m. Restrictions apply. Visit www.alliancetheatre.org/ticketsforteachers for details.

See all discounts and special offers here: alliancetheatre.org/content/ticket-discounts.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE is Atlanta's national theater, expanding hearts and minds on stage and off. Founded in 1968, the ALLIANCE THEATRE is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually. The Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the ALLIANCE THEATRE received the Regional Theatre Tony Award in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education, and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 100 original productions including Tony Award winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has developed and premiered important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Twyla Tharp's Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Harmony - A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman, and most recently the world premiere of the new musical Tuck Everlasting. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of artists through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing the world premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year.

The Alliance's dedication to providing access to the arts is reflected in its commitment to creating new work for all ages, and to bringing that work into classrooms and communities across Atlanta and throughout the region. More than 50,000 students each year experience age-specific professional performances and participate in acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives through the ALLIANCE THEATRE Acting Program and Education Department. The Alliance's groundbreaking Kathy and Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young performances offer professionally-produced, fully interactive theater for infants and toddlers; the Palefsky Collision Project invites high school artists to create and perform new civic-minded theater based on a classic text; and community acting classes and skill-building workshops engage professional artists, young actors, business leaders, and curious learners of all ages. Twice recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for leadership in arts education, the Alliance Arts for Learning Institute equips classroom teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum and have been empirically proven to improve student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences.

The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community. The vision of the ALLIANCE THEATRE is to be a beacon of leadership for the national field, while remaining deeply rooted in and reflective of our local Atlanta community. Visit www.alliancetheatre.org for more information.

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