BABE Comes To Children's Theater Company, Opens 1/21/11

As the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film, Babe The Sheep-Pig paid homage to a gallant piglet won by James Cromwell's character "Farmer Hogget." With a surprising ability to wrangle fellow barnyard animals with determination and unsurpassed politeness, Babe won the hearts of Farmer Hogget and film audiences everywhere.

Now, for the first time, Children's Theatre Company (CTC) will bring this heartwarming tale to life on stage in the Twin Cities' first professional production of Babe (The Sheep-Pig), opening Friday, January 21, 2011.

Peter C. Brosius, artistic director for CTC and director of CTC favorites Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, A Christmas Story and The Biggest Little House in the Forest, directs his third CTC production show this season. (A Christmas Story runs through December 31, 2010.)

"Babe is a delightful story by the English writer Dick King-Smith," says Brosius. "Mr. Smith, who worked as a farmer for 20 years before becoming a teacher and writer, filled his writing with quirky, wonderfully observed characters. The playwright, David Wood, created a lively, very tender and theatrical story that inspires us all."
The story arc follows Babe, a piglet won by sheep farmer Hogget and his wife and taken in by the Hogget's dog "Fly," as he discovers his astounding ability to herd sheep through time-tested personality traits: bravery, honesty, consideration and the best possible barnyard manners. Babe becomes an unlikely hero as his star rises over the Grand Challenge Sheep-Dog Trials.
Reuniting the comic duo of last holiday season's Cinderella, actors Dean Holt and Reed Sigmund lead the cast as Babe and Farmer Hogget. Holt, who just completed his run as Robin Hood, and Sigmund, who played the roles of Prince John, Will Scarlett, Friar Tuck and Little John, also in Robin Hood, are in their 17th and 11th seasons, respectively, here at CTC. Sigmund's work is beloved by CTC patrons. He has also been seen in The Wizard of Oz, A Year with Frog and Toad, The Snow Queen and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Holt is the recipient of an IVEY Award for his work in CTC's production of Reeling.

Rounding out the cast of ten:

ElizaBeth Griffith (Mrs. Hogget) - Making her CTC debut, Griffith has appeared in the Guthrie Theater's production of A Christmas Carol and to the Lighthouse...a transformation! as part of Live Action Set's Nightcap Series.
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Mo Perry ("Fly") - Also making her CTC debut, Perry's work has been seen at Park Square Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Torch Theater Company and countless others within the Twin Cities.

John Egan (TV Commentator and Vicar) - Grew up coming to CTC and went on to earn his B.F.A. from Juilliard. His most recent credits include The Last Seder at Park Square Theatre, A Midsummer's Night Dream at Upright Egg Theatre Company and Fresh Five at Brazen Theatre Company.

Diogo Lopes - Studied at the Academia Contemporanea do Espectaculo in Porto, Portugal, and at the London International School of Performing Arts. He has been performing, directing and teaching physical theatre and clowning internationally since 2001.

Julianna Drajko - Is a Hungarian actress who moved to Minneapolis in 2006. Her American stage debut was at the 2007 Minnesota Fringe Festival, but Drajko entertained children with traveling clown shows throughout Hungary prior to arriving here.

Karl Amundson - Returns to CTC, having performed in productions of Disney's Mulan, Jr., and Romeo & Juliet. Amundson is a sophomore at Northfield High School and has also performed in the Guthrie Theater's production of A Christmas Carol.

Camryn Reynolds ("Ma") - Is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College and a performing apprentice at CTC. Her past works have included Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (CTC), A Christmas Carol (the Guthrie Theater) and The Adventures of Katie Tomatie (Open Eye Figure Theatre).

Duncan Frost - Most recently understudied Reed Sigmund, in the Robin Hood roles of Prince John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlett and Little John. Frost has become a mainstay at CTC, with roles in Cinderella, Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, The Iron Ring and Disney's Mulan, Jr.

Scenic design for Babe is created by Eric J. Van Wyk, whose previous CTC credits include scenic and puppet

design for the theatre's preschool production The Biggest Little House in the Forest and puppet design for Cinderella and Bert & Ernie, Goodnight! Van Wyk's regional credits also include: Open Eye Figure Theatre's Milly and Tillie (scenic design), The Holiday Pageant (assistant scenic design) and Snowman (technical direction); scenic design for The Fantasticks at the Mum Puppetheatre and Breath, Boom! at the Studio Theatre; and puppet design for Imagination Stage's The Neverending Story. Van Wyk is the recipient of the 2009 Jim Henson Foundation Seed Grant for his work O the Sky!
Sonya Berlovitz, who provides costume design for Babe, is best known for her work at Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Berlovitz designed more than 40 productions for the theatre between 1980 and 2008, including eight national tours. Her work has been seen onstage at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, American Repertory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, The Jungle Theater and Ten Thousand Things Theatre. Her past CTC productions have included: Tremendously Tall Tales, Grimm's Tales, The Snow Queen, Mississippi Panorama and Alice in Wonderland. She is also a McKnight Theatre Artists Fellowship recipient and winner of The Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Costume Design.

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Lighting design is by Rebecca Fuller Jensen (previous work includes Robin Hood, Romeo & Juliet, The Magic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins). Victor Zupanc, who provided music composition and sound design for Robin Hood, returns for Babe.

Babe opens Fri., Jan. 21 (previews begin Tues., Jan. 18), and runs through Sun., Feb. 27. Tickets range from $26-$40 for adults and $16-$25 for children (17 & under), students and seniors and are available by calling (612) 874-0400 or by visiting www.childrenstheatre.org.

Subscriptions for the 2010-2011 season, which also includes show-stopping hits such as Annie (directed by High School Musical director, Peter Rothstein), Barrio Grrrl! and Babe (The Sheep Pig) are available now by calling (612) 874-0400.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is the first theatre for young people to win the coveted Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theater (2003). Founded in 1965, CTC serves more than 300,000 people annually and is one of the 20 largest theater companies in the nation. CTC is noted for defining worldwide standards for youth theatre with an innovative mix of classic tales, celebrated international productions and challenging new work.

 

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