Children's Theatre Company to Present PINOCCHIO This Summer

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is thrilled to kick off the new season with the acclaimed return of Pinocchio, the clever adaptation of Carlo Collodi's classic Italian folk tale that dazzled CTC audiences when it premiered in 2013. The production is created by Greg Banks who has created many highly-acclaimed adaptations, including The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Huck Finn, and Romeo and Juliet. This production, like Collodi's story, explores the magical moments when make-believe becomes real.

Greg Banks' fast-pace reimagining will feature the four actors as painters that have shown up to paint the walls of the empty theatre, only to find an audience eagerly anticipating a production of Pinocchio. The four playfully scramble with the tools of their trade (paint brushes, ladders, mops, scaffolding, etc.) to tell the story of Pinocchio, eagerly asking for help from the audience to propel the story forward. From the moment Geppetto creates him from a lump of wood, 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 and prove his love for his Papa is real.

"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."

Banks' work as a director, writer, and actor has taken him all over the world. He is known for creating work for young audiences that is mesmerizing and physically daring. He has created five world premieres for CTC over a span of ten years. Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius explains, "Greg Banks is an exciting director whose work is artistically inventive and challenging. He is a master at taking a classic story and retelling it with unexpected new life. His work is so wildly and wonderfully theatrical, touching, and hilarious that audiences of all ages delight in its creativity and energy."

The ensemble cast includes four renowned Twin Cities actors. Reprising the role of Pinocchio is Elise Langer, most recently seen at CTC in The Cat in the Hat (Twin Cities theatre credits include Ten Thousand Things, Open Eye Figure Theatre). The production also features two of CTC's Acting Company members, Reed Sigmund and Dean Holt. Returning after her debut in The Snowy Day is actress Joy Dolo (Twin Cities theatre credits include Pillsbury House, Illusion Theater, Nimbus Theatre and Park Square Theater). Also onstage is CTC's resident music director, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, Victor Zupanc.

Pinocchio runs July 15 - August 14, 2016 on the UnitedHealth Group Stage and is recommended for all ages. Tickets are on sale now starting at $15. All season subscription packages are still available. For more information visit us online at childrenstheatre.org or call the Ticket Office at 612.874.0400. Pinocchio is proudly sponsored by Travelers.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is the nation's largest and most acclaimed theatre for multigenerational audiences. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire for more than 300,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the coveted Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to producing world class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

CTC's engagement and learning programs annually serve more than 85,000 students ages 2-18 through Theatre Arts Training, student matinees, Bridges, and early childhood arts education programs that bring students to the theatre and bring teaching artists into the classroom. The ACT One program is CTC's comprehensive platform for access, diversity, and inclusion in our audiences, programs, staff, and board that strives to ensure the theatre is a home for all people, all families, reflective of our community. www.childrenstheatre.org

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