Nashville Children's Theatre Announces 2016-17 Season

Nashville Children's Theatre (NCT) this morning announces its 85th Anniversary season. Since 1931, NCT has been leading the way in providing professional theatre to young audiences. As the oldest professional children's theatre in the nation, NCT is proud to continue its mission to provide extraordinary theatrical experiences to youth, families and adults.

The announcement of the 2016-17 Season is the culmination of many milestones including NCT's ranking as one of the top 4 children's theatres in the nation by TIME Magazine and its position as the flagship Theatre for Young Audiences in the Southeast. With the production of over 391 plays, NCT has entertained, inspired and educated five generations of Nashvillians, while helping to create legions of theater fans.

"NCT is a cultural touchstone for generations of children who have grown up in Middle Tennessee," says Dan Brewer, NCT Acting Artistic Director. "The ripples from our work have been felt and noted throughout the country and around the world, but our focus is - as it always has been - on service to the children and families that make up this community. The variety of our 2016-17 season is a fantastic example of this service."

NCT's 2016-17 Season continues the theatre's commitment to inspire possibility in children of all ages with three regional premieres, two productions written by NCT's own Scot Copeland, a special holiday event back by popular demand, as well as one production with an innovative After-Play Forum series. NCT invites its audiences to inspire possibility in children of all ages through the magic of professional live theatre.

Following is the full schedule for NCT's 85th Season:

• Afflicted: Daughters of Salem: September 15-October 2, 2016 This production will be best appreciated by adults and children ages 10 and up. The untold tale of the girls of Salem. 1691. Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Mercy Lewis, Mary Warren, and Betty Paris meet with the slave, Tituba, deep in the dark woods of Puritan New England at night. Denied all outlets for imagination, the girls unite in secret society. When the girls force Tituba to tell their fortunes, they ignite a crucible of events that burns out of control, leading straight to the infamous Salem Witch Trials. In award-winning playwright Laurie Brooks' fictionalized look into peer politics and teenage rebellion, alliances will be formed and betrayed, promises made and broken, power taken and lost - and through secrets, gossip, fear, lies and accusations, these young girls ignite a crucible of dark events that will brand them amongst the most notorious teenagers in American history. Following each performance, audience members will have the chance to participate in a unique post-show forum to delve into the themes of the play, a trademark of Brooks' plays. The resolution of the play will happen in the forum.
• Junie B. Jones Is Not A Crook: October 27-December 4, 2016 Adapted by Allison Gregory. From the series by Barbara Park. Junie B. Jones, the world's funniest kindergartner, is back at NCT in a brand new stage adventure! A terrible thing has happened to Junie B.! And it's called-someone took her new black furry mittens! And they kept them! They didn't even put them in the Lost and Found at school. A stealer stoled them! So when Junie B. finds a wonderful pen on the floor, one of those wowie-wow-wow pens that writes four different colors, she should be allowed to keep it, too. Right? That's fair. Finders keepers, losers weepers! Right?
• Treasure Island: January 19-February 5, 2017 Dramatized by Scot Copeland. Based on the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. Adventure awaits so lay your course for the sun-baked sands of the Caribbean as young Jim Hawkins, treasure map in hand, sets sail in an epic drum-pounding tale that has it all: suspense, comedy, mystery, swashbuckling swordplay, honor and treachery - all among a crew of some of the most colorful heroes and villains in all of literature. Dramatized by NCT's own Scot Copeland, Treasure Island is the ultimate pirate adventure, reinvented for today's young audiences and families!
• And In This Corner: Cassius Clay: February 23-March 12, 2017 This production will be best appreciated by adults and children ages 10 and up. What kind of fights are you going to fight and what are you going to fight for? Before he was real-life superhero Muhammad Ali, he was Cassius Clay, a black teenager growing up in segregated Louisville, Kentucky. Against all odds, the young boxer pursues and achieves his dream of Olympic Gold, but finds his triumph hollow when faced with the realities of segregated Jim Crow America. Vowing to never be treated as a second-class citizen again, Cassius decides he is going to be the type of person who fights not only for himself, but for others too. In this corner, ignorance, bigotry, poverty and injustice. And in this corner...Cassius Clay!
• Goodnight, Moon: April 13-May 14, 2015 Adapted by Chad Henry. Music and Lyrics by Chad Henry. Based on the book by Margaret Wise Brown. Illustrations by Clement Hurd. In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. Everybody's favorite bedtime book is magically transformed into an imaginative, unforgettable theatrical experience, live, on NCT's stage. It's a sparkling, wonder-filled musical that elaborates on the original with style and wit, yet remains true to the simple, loving heart of this beloved book. You'll find a hundred delightful surprises on the way to getting exactly what you expect!
• Special Holiday Event: Nashville Children's Theatre's Cinderella: December 15-22, 2016 Dramatized by Scot Copeland. Nashville Children's Theatre's breathtaking production of Cinderella is your new holiday tradition! As colorful as a Victorian pop-up book and as lush as a Viennese Waltz, this sparkling holiday confection brims with humor, romance, and spectacular theatrical effects. All the iconic elements one would hope to see are here; hilarious stepsisters, wise fairy godmother, amazing transformations, delicate pumpkin coach, beautiful ball gown, a handsome Prince, the striking clock, a desperate flight and, of course, a delicate glass slipper left behind in the snow - all lovingly designed, carefully crafted, and beautifully played by the extraordinary artists of Nashville Children's Theatre.

2016-17 Season Memberships are on sale now:

NCT Season Membership Season Memberships provide the most opportunity for families to enjoy NCT. Each $300 Season Membership includes 20 tickets to use anytime in the season - for youth or an adult.

NCT Season Membership Lite Similar to the full Membership, the Season Membership Lite is $150 and includes 10 tickets to use anytime in the season - for youth or an adult.

Among benefits to both Membership levels include additional tickets at $15 throughout the 2016-17 season - a $5 discount per adult ticket, 10% savings on all NCT drama camps and classes, discount tickets to Cinderella, free ticket exchange, and special offers available throughout the season. Single tickets go on sale August 14, 2016. Purchase tickets online at NashvilleCT.org or by calling NCT's box office at (615) 252-4675, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

NCT has several special events planned for the 2016-17 Season, including the following:

• NCT Season Sneak Peek and Open House - Saturday, August 13, 2016 A fun, FREE event featuring scenes and songs from our 85th season! Sneak Peek at 2 p.m., Open House at noon.
• Grand Day - Sunday, April 23, 2017 A celebration of the generations of families who have supported NCT, Grand Day begins with a 2 p.m. performance of Goodnight Moon and is followed by a carnival of games, rides, food, and fun for the whole family!

About Nashville Children's Theatre Nashville Children's Theatre is a professional theatre company providing the children, families and educators of Middle Tennessee with extraordinary shared theatrical experiences that inspire imagination, develop creativity, and build community. NCT was founded in 1931 by the Junior League of Nashville and is recognized as the oldest professional children's theater in the country. A national leader in professional theater arts and education programs for young people, NCT is ranked by TIME magazine as one of the top five children's theaters in the country.

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