THE LAST FIREFLY World Premiere Will Flash to Life at Children's Theatre Company This Month

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) will unveil the world premiere of The Last Firefly, written by Naomi Iizuka and directed by CTC's Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius beginning September 27. This marks Iizuka's second work at CTC after Anon(ymous) played to rave reviews in 2006.

Considered one of the most celebrated playwrights in the United States, Iizuka has created an extraordinary quest of a young man searching for his father in a world of perilous landscapes and surprising characters.

The work has already gone on an epic journey itself, having been selected for The John F. Kennedy Center's New Voices/New Visions Festival and has been honored by the prestigious Joyce Awards. The Last Firefly began its commission and development through CTC's Threshold new play development program in 2009.

"Naomi is truly one of the great writers in this country," said Director Peter C. Brosius. "Her combination of a fierce, contemporary sensibility and her depth of knowledge of classic literature make her work uniquely rich and theatrically inventive. Her writing creates worlds that bridge gaps of time, myth, and radically different realities. Naomi creates theatre that is so incredibly alive, vital, and challenging. I am thrilled to have her work on our stage."

"The story of Boom, the main character, is very much the story that you'd find in a manga, like Dragon Ball and Naruto, which was a big inspiration for me in writing this play," reflects playwright Naomi Iizuka. "He's on a quest. He has to make his way through a strange, fantastical world where he fights demons and gains supernatural powers. This is the story you see in so many of the manga that my ten-year-old son reads. What I also love about manga is the style of the illustrations. It's so vivid and vibrant. That bright, larger-than-life style and approach feels very connected to Japanese woodblock prints and also Kabuki, and it was also a big inspiration in writing the play."

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.

The show stars Ricardo Vazquez (Guthrie Theater, Park Square Theatre, History Theatre) making his CTC debut as Boom, son of Thunder. It also stars Sun Mee Chomet (Guthrie Theater, Mu Performing Arts) making her CTC debut as Monkey, Luverne Seifert (CTC credits include Marsupial Girl, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and others; Guthrie Theater, Ten Thousand Things Theater) as Ax, Joy Dolo (CTC credits include Pinocchio and The Snowy Day and other stories by Ezra Jack Keats) as Kuroko, and Stephanie Bertumen (Mu Performing Arts, History Theatre) making her CTC debut as Lightning.

The Last Firefly runs September 27 through November 13, 2016 on the Cargill Stage and is recommended for age 8+ due to mature content. 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. This production is supported by The Joyce Awards.

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.

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