Theater Latté Da Announces Local Premiere Of Milo Cramer's SCHOOL PICTURES At The Ritz Theater

Theater Latté Da has announced the cast and creative team for the local premiere of the thought-provoking, delightful solo show SCHOOL PICTURES, written and performed by Milo Cramer and directed by the show's original director Morgan Green.  

Cramer reprises the role they wrote and created, drawing inspiration from their experiences tutoring New York City middle school students to “explore questions about what is really worth knowing and what sacrifices warrant the effort in a system in which success seems so arbitrarily distributed.” (The New York Times) SCHOOL PICTURES will play a strictly limited 4-week run from February 5 to March 2, 2025  at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis. 

Twice extended in its Off-Broadway production at New York City's Playwrights Horizons, SCHOOL PICTURES was named New York Magazine Vulture's Best Play of the Year in 2023, with critic Sara Holdren noting, “Gentle, generous, seemingly simple in form but buzzing with complexity, writer-performer Milo Cramer's solo show of songs inspired by the kids they taught was as riveting as it was sweetly funny.” The production premiered at Philadelphia's Wilma Theatre in 2022, where it also received significant acclaim. The Broad Street Review observed, “Cramer takes the audience on an endearing and quietly moving journey...Part lecture and part song cycle, they disarm the audience with humor in order to ask pointed questions about the state of our schools.” 

“I love how boldly School Pictures pushes the boundaries of what we traditionally think of as musical theater,” says Artistic Director Justin Lucero. “This endearing work not only challenges our expectations, but also shines a spotlight on the voice of an exciting new writer.”

New York Magazine's choice for Best Play of 2023, a “completely wonderful” musical portrait of modern school life is “as riveting as it [is] sweetly funny.” Directed by Morgan Green, this “extraordinary meditation on teaching and learning” is told in musical snapshots of individual teenagers. Solo writer-performer Milo Cramer, a former tutor, offers charming and keen observations of ten NY students fighting to get into competitive schools. At its heart are questions about what's really worth knowing and worth sacrificing in a system in which success seems so arbitrarily distributed.

Milo Cramer is the sole performer in SCHOOL PICTURES. The Theater Latté Da production brings together a creative team combining the show's original designers with local Twin Cities talent. Returning from previous productions is Jean Kim (Scenic and Costume Design), joined by Minnesota-based designers Marcus Dilliard (Lighting Design) and Madelaine Foster (Props Designer). Shelby Reddig is the Production Stage Manager, and Ajah Williams is the Assistant Stage Manager. 

SCHOOL PICTURES begins performances on February 5, 2025 and will run through March 2, 2025 at Theater Latté Da's home at the historic Ritz Theater in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. Opening night is Saturday, February 8, 2025. Single tickets start at $36. Group, student and other discounts are also available. Five-ticket FLEXPacks and three-show subscriptions are also available starting at $33 a ticket and offer a range of subscriber-exclusive perks. 

Tickets and subscriptions are on sale now through the box office at 612-339-3003 or online at latteda.org. In-person box office hours are Tuesday to Friday from 12-5:00 PM and Saturday from 12-5:00 PM when in performance. Post-show discussions, ASL/AD, Open Caption, and masks-required performances are available on select dates. 

SCHOOL PICTURES follows the historic success of RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN'S CINDERELLA, currently playing an extended run through January 11, 2025 and now the second best-selling production in Theater Latté Da's 27-year history. Following SCHOOL PICTURES will be the highly anticipated first Twin Cities production of the Tony Award-winning FUN HOME (Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book & Lyrics by Lisa Kron, Based on the Graphic Novel by Alison Bechdel). The season will conclude with the Stephen Sondheim epic PASSION, directed by Justin Lucero. 

To post a comment, you must register and login.