Cast and Creative Team Set For LEONARDO! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster at Children's Theatre Company

Children’s Theatre Company has announced the complete cast and creative team for the Minnesota premiere of Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster, created by Manual Cinema, which will run from January 8-March 9, 2025 on CTC’s Cargill Stage. Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster is inspired by the books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems. The adaptation is by Sarah Fornace and Drew Dir, with music, lyrics and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter. The production is directed by Sarah Fornace.

“At CTC we feel it’s important to nurture and activate a child’s creative life with ingenious storytelling, and Manual Cinema is one of the most imaginative theatre troupes working in America today,” said CTC Artistic Director Rick Dildine. “Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality.”

Monsters have one job and it's to be SCARY! "Booga booga booga!" But as hard as he tries, Leonardo can't scare even a mouse. When the other monsters laugh and make fun of him, Leonardo goes in search of the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world to try and scare the tuna salad out of him! Manual Cinema breathes innovative life into this beloved story (and its doubly charming sequel), using hundreds of puppets to magically create a movie before your very eyes. Will Leonardo finally become the scary monster he dreams of being? Or will he discover something even better to be? Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems, Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster was commissioned by The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with additional commissioning support from Utah Presents.

“We are so thrilled to bring Leonardo! A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster to the Twin Cities,” said playwright and director Sarah Fornace. “The show adapts two books by everyone's favorite bedtime book author Mo Willems, and it tells an important story about empathy and choosing unexpected friendships. Minneapolis has such a wonderful arts scene and some of the best puppetry in the country! We always love performing here, because the audiences are smart and savvy and seem to love puppet shows! We use paper puppets, fuzzy Muppet-style puppets, live music, and video cameras to bring Mo's books to life in front of the audience's eyes. In every Manual Cinema show, we always show the process of making the performance, and I hope that we inspire the future generation to make their own art and tell their own stories! Also, as a parent, I am always excited to bring this show to other parents. There are jokes for all ages, and the songs are jams - I do not mind singing them 100 times.”

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