Raue Center For The Arts Announces 2021 – 2022 Mission Imagination

Raue Center For The Arts has announced its 2021 - 2022 Mission Imagination season! Mission Imagination is Raue Center's fine arts education program at the storied Crystal Lake theatre, one that has brought joy to over 400,000 children from school districts across the Chicagoland area.

Mission Imagination makes its dynamic return post COVID Pandemic with seven shows; five professionally produced by TheatreWorksUSA from NYC and two produced by Raue's fine arts education program Sage On Stage, all geared toward young audiences.

"The Raue is proud to offer Mission Imagination shows once again for students during the 2021-2022 school year!," exclaims Mission Imagination Education Consultant, Terry Jacobsen. "With a wide variety of choices, there's sure to be a show for every age group and grade level."

Raue Center's Mission Imagination kicks off its 2021-2022 season by "going back to school" with the popular-television-series-turned-musical-extravaganza Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. This energetic musical, produced in conjunction with and featuring students from Raue Center's Sage Studio and their page-to-stage educational production program Sage On Stage, follows a young schoolteacher who is nervous about their first day of teaching and tries to relax by watching TV when a parade of familiar characters emerge from the set to show them how to win their students over with imagination and music. Memorable songs, "Just a Bill," "Unpack Your Adjectives," and "Conjunction Junction" bring their lesson plans vividly to life. Performances of Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. are at 10am and 12:15pm on October 14, 2021. For additional performance dates and times, please visit raucecenter.org.

Up next, E.B. White's classic tale of friendship and perseverance comes brilliantly to life in Charlotte's Web. Produced by TheatreWorksUSA, Charlotte's Web is the loving story of the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a little gray spider named Charlotte. This treasured tale, featuring madcap and endearing farm animals, explores bravery, selfless love, and the true meaning of friendship. Performances of Charlotte's Web are at 10am and 12:15pm on November 8, 2021.

Get ready to feel the Christmas "spirit" with Sage On Stage's second contribution to the Mission Imagination season; the immortal classic, A Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime. Join Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, and Tiny Tim in this interactive, fun, family-friendly, participatory show! Experience the classic and heartwarming story in a way you never have before in this mashup of classic and modern that is British pantomime! One performance of A Christmas Carol: A Holiday Pantomime is at 10am on December 9, 2021. For additional performance dates and times, please visit raucecenter.org.

On February 17, 2022, we welcome DOG MAN the Musical back to the Raue Center stage! DOG MAN the Musical is a hilarious production based on the worldwide bestselling series from Dav Pilkey, the creator of Captain Underpants. With the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, Dog Man loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. Can he catch Petey, the world's most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder? Find out in this epic musical adventure produced by TheatreWorksUSA. Performance times are 10am and 12:15pm.

Warriors Don't Cry, inspired by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals's Little Rock Nine memoir, is a captivating production touching on the themes of social responsibility, civil discourse, social media, and community engagement. Reluctant to cope with one more tragedy in a school, young activist Ya Girl is ready to call it quits on leading her million-plus Instagram followers in the fight for social justice. When Melba Pattillo Beals steps out of history and into Ya Girl's phone to share the story of her battle to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957, Ya Girl learns to see herself in Melba-and in all the young warriors who came before her to raise their hands and make a difference. Produced by TheatreWorksUSA, Warriors Don't Cry is an important entry in our Mission Imagination season. Performance times are 10am and 12:15pm on February 24, 2022.

Pete the Cat returns to the Raue Center stage on March 18, 2022, at 10am and 12:15pm! For Pete the Cat, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up. So the minute the groovy blue cat meets The Biddles, he gets the whole family rocking. That is, except for young Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on planet Earth. Join Jimmy and Pete on an adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back in a VW Bus! Produced by TheatreWorksUSA.

The final school show of the season is sure to get our "STEM" brains buzzing! Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends, based on the popular children's book series, comes to life at the Raue Center on April 8, 2022, at 10am and 12:15pm. Ms. Greer's classroom includes three inquisitive out-of-the-box thinkers. Rosie Revere has big dreams. Iggy Peck has a relentless passion for architecture. And Ada Twist's curiosity can lead her to solve any problem. With a spotlight on the STEM curriculum (focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math), Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends is sure to get your minds a-workin' and your toes a-tappin'!

To purchase or reserve tickets to any of these wonderful shows, please visit rauecenter.org/mission-imagination/ or contact education@rauecenter.org for more information.

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