Children's Theatre Company Sets 2016-17 Season

Children's Theatre Company is proud to announce its 2016-2017 season which includes four musicals, two CTC audience favorites, and two world premiere productions including the development of a new Dr. Seuss musical based on the story of the Sneetches and an epic new play by Naomi Iizuka.

The season begins in July with a reprise of the innovative and surprising staging of Pinocchio by Greg Banks (director and playwright for last season's smash success The Jungle Book). Pinocchio is followed by Elephant & Piggie's We Are in a Play! written by the highly acclaimed children's author Mo Willems and is a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts production based on his beloved book series. The Fall will also bring a world premiere of The Last Firefly, a fantastical tale by Naomi Iizuka (previous CTC credits include Anon(ymous)) about a boy's transformational journey to find his father. This play is supported by The Joyce Awards. The holidays will let loose the magical, outrageous, and over-the-top CTC favorite, Cinderella directed by Peter C. Brosius and starring CTC company member, Traci Allen Shannon as Cinderella. February 2017 unleashes a brand new musical production of Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches, written by renowned playwright Philip Dawkins with music by David Mallamud. This work was supported by a Theatre Commissioning and Production Initiative grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Closing the season, and after almost a decade, the three-time Tony Award nominated A Year with Frog and Toad will again dazzle audiences with direction by Peter Rothstein and starring Bradley Greenwald as Frog and Reed Sigmund as Toad.

"I am so proud we are able to bring four musicals, three of which were developed here at CTC, to our stage in one single season for this audience," remarked Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. "I'm equally excited we are able to produce world premiere productions by nationally celebrated artists Philip Dawkins, David Mallamud, and Naomi Iizuka, who bring their talent, creativity, and inspiration to create challenging work for multigenerational audiences. It is a sensational season we have planned and one that is sure to delight and inspire our patrons."

Season subscriptions go on sale Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Subscription packages include full season options to flexible packaging and value priced preview and opening weekend packages.

CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY'S 2016-2017 SEASON

Pinocchio

By Carlo Collodi

Adapted and Directed by Greg Banks

Best enjoyed by Kindergarten+

UnitedHealth Group Stage

Dates: July 15 through August 14

Pinocchio dreams of being a real boy, but will the all-too-tempting delights of puppet shows and Playland be too much? When Geppetto is swallowed by a whale, it is up to this little wooden puppet to show his courage. Our savvy spin on the classic tale of Pinocchio proves the right four actors, a stage full of construction materials, and your imagination is all that's needed to bring this perennial favorite to new life. Directed by Greg Banks (The Jungle Book, Huck Finn), this surprising theatrical experience promises to be a performance you'll never forget - wood we lie to you?

"Out of all the shows I have done at CTC this is one of my favorites," remarked Director Greg Banks. "Pinocchio is a great story about growing up. It's about discovering the world and being excited by what you find. It explores that fabulous time of innocence when everything is new, from discovering your legs and finding out that they work, that they run and jump and do whatever you want, to figuring out that sometimes being alive is not just about you."

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour Presents

Elephant & Piggie's We Are in a Play!

Based on the Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems

Script and lyrics by Mo Willems

Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma

Choreographed by Jessica Hartman

Directed by Jerry Whiddon

Best enjoyed by preschool+

UnitedHealth Group Stage

September 13 through October 23

Let's talk about the elephant in the room, Gerald is no good at dancing. But the pessimistic pachyderm has the help of his perky pal Piggie to teach him how. The melodic musings of this dynamic duo make for one grand day at the theatre as Elephant and Piggie put on a show where we learn the important responsibilities of being a good friend. Based on The New York Times best-selling book series by Mo Willems, Elephant & Piggie's We Are in a Play! is a jazzy, jolly, and joyful vaudevillian romp of a musical that will leave you tickled pink. Complete with the nutty back-up singers, The Squirelles, get ready for this raucous dance party that will have the whole theatre "Flippy Floppy Floory"!

Author and writer of the musical Mo Willems is particularly enthusiastic about the production's journey to CTC. He states, "Elephant and Piggie were created as reflections of my favorite round headed characters when I was a kid, Charlie Brown and his pals. How wonderful that after reading my books, the Kennedy Center asked me to help create a musical starring Elephant and Piggie and (more wonderful still) now Elephant & Piggie's We Are in a Play! will head to one of the nation's best children's theater companies in Minneapolis, birthplace of Charlie Brown and his pals."

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour is represented by Shaw Entertainment Group, LLC.

The Last Firefly

Written by Naomi Iizuka

Directed by Peter C. Brosius

Best enjoyed by third grade+

Cargill Stage (no lap passes available)

September 27 through November 13

It begins with light, a sliver, a flash, then comes a sound, a pulse, a beat, a crash like a giant hammer smashing through the sky. Thus, the story of Boom, the son of Thunder, begins as he sets out on an epic search for his father, ultimately discovering his true self and the strength within him that always existed. This mythical adventure will transport you and your child on a fantastic journey where the littlest things can make all the difference in the world. This play is supported by The Joyce Awards.

"The Japanese folktales weaved into this play make you see the natural world in entirely new ways," reflects playwright Naomi Iizuka. "I've loved these tales since I was little - stories like the Tongue-Cut Sparrow and the Good Thunder. These are amazing stories. They're funny, fantastical, terrifying, and wondrous. They're also unlike Western fairytales that may be more familiar. It's very exciting to be able to share them with a new generation."

Cinderella

Adapted by John B. Davidson

Original Music by Victor Zupanc

Based on the fairytale by Charles Perrault

Directed by Peter C. Brosius

Best enjoyed by everyone

UnitedHealth Group Stage

November 8 through January 8

Hold on to your pumpkins! The magical, fantastical, and all-too-hilarious Cinderella returns to our stage for the holiday season. Freshly updated with all new songs, gags, and mayhem, you'll jeer at the deliciously dysfunctional stepmother and sisters as much as you'll cheer for Cinderella in her quest to attend the magnificent ball and fulfill her destiny. Put on your glass slippers, and join us for this spectacular and outrageous telling of our unique Cinderella, guaranteed to delight.

"Cinderella is a wild mix of extraordinary beauty, outrageous physical comedy, and clever pop culture references, all wrapped up in one gorgeous Victorian ball of a party," enthused Director Peter C. Brosius. "This production has a long tradition at CTC and is reinvented for each particular group of actors every time it returns, so you can never say you saw it twice. I hope you will join us in the audience - and perhaps even onstage! - for this touching, surprising, and endlessly fun production!"

Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches

Based on the book The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

Produced by permission of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.

Book and Lyrics by Philip Dawkins

Music by David Mallamud

Best enjoyed by everyone

UnitedHealth Group Stage

February 7 through March 26

On Sneetch Beach, there's a line in the sand-Star Bellies on one side, Plain Bellies on the other. That's the way it is, was, and will be. At least until the sneaky and greedy Sylvester Monkey McBean comes to town with his Star On machine. Suddenly, the difference between the haves and the have nots-those with stars and those without-isn't so clear. What will the Sneetches do now? In this rousing and inventive musical adaptation of Dr. Seuss' powerful parable about the surface things that divide us, it will take a courageous friendship between an unlikely pair of Sneetches to find the answers. This work is supported by a Theatre Commissioning and Production Initiative grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

"What really struck me about this story is how topical the allegory is today," reflects playwright Philip Dawkins. "Every time I turn on the news, I hear a report about different groups of people all over the world who could learn a lot from the Sneetches' mistakes. It only proves the necessity of this story at this time. From such an early age, fear and prejudice are drilled into the experience of being part of a society. I take great joy in being able to infuse these important stories with the whimsy and creativity that also exists in our complicated, troubled world."

A Year with Frog and Toad

Based on the Arnold Lobel's Newbery and Caldecott Honor Books

Music by Robert Reale

Lyrics and book by Willie Reale

Directed by Peter Rothstein

Based on Original Direction by David Petrarca

Best enjoyed by everyone

UnitedHealth Group Stage

April 18 through June 18

Waking from hibernation in the Spring, the perky Frog and the worrywart Toad plant gardens, swim, rake leaves, go sledding, and learn life lessons through four, fun-filled seasons. The amphibian odd couple celebrate and rejoice in their differences that make them the best-est of friends while joined by a colorful cast of birds, mice, turtles, and that slo-o-ow snail with the mail. Nominated for three Tony Awards including Best Musical, this unforgettable and tuneful musical is back on our stage after almost a decade! Don't miss this exuberant story based on the treasured books by Arnold Lobel in a musical that soars like a kite and blossoms like spring.

Director Peter Rothstein remarked, "It's a thrill to return to CTC and to reprise A Year with Frog and Toad. With good reason, the stories of Frog and Toad have withstood the test of time. Two very different people not only come to respect each other's differences, but celebrate them. And this musical adaptation is top notch."

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) creates extraordinary theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire multigenerational audiences. CTC is the first theatre for young people to win the coveted Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater (2003) and has welcomed more than 11 million people to performances and education programs over the last five decades. As one of the 20 largest theatre companies in the nation, CTC has created over 200 new works, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

Photo by Dan Norman

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