ME...JANE Opens 2019-2020 Season At Oregon Children's Theatre

Oregon Children's Theatre (OCT) - the region's largest nonprofit performing arts company for young audiences - announces the launch of its 2019-2020 season with the west coast premiere of the new musical Me...Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall.

Originally commissioned in 2017 by the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, childhood imagination leads the way in this musical portrayal of Jane's lifelong love of animals; starting with backyard chickens, hungry squirrels, and neighborhood dogs. When Goodall was just a year old, her father gave her Jubilee, a stuffed monkey that became her favorite toy and sidekick. Together in Jane's daydreams the duo would eat breakfast on the Sahara, feel the ground shake during the Great Migration on the Serengeti, and smell the air on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Defying expectations of what girls "should" do, Jane's natural curiosity leads her (and Jubilee) all the way to the land of her dreams: living amongst the chimpanzees in the jungles of Africa.

This empowering story, paired with catchy and memorable musical numbers, is the perfect selection to open OCT's 2019-2020 season, keeping in line with the organization's commitment to diverse storytelling, equity and inclusion. "We chose Me...Jane because it's a great piece of theatre: a brilliant, funny, and moving script with amazing music," Director Marcella Crowson explains. "The story holds inspiration for all of us, young and old, to be better caretakers of the animals and the environment."

This musical is based on the beautiful children's book Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell, who brilliantly captures Jane's joyous, adventurous spirit. Adapted for the stage by McDonnell and Oregon-born playwright Aaron Posner, the production not only entertains but also teaches children the importance of curiosity and discovery, as well as achieving goals with perseverance. It encourages young children to pursue their ambitions and strive to accomplish their dreams in the face of adversity.

"The relationship in this show between Jane and her mother is very important," Crowson says. "At the center of the story is a curious, compassionate young girl who found her love of animals and the natural world at an early age; she was encouraged, unfailingly, by her mother to follow her dreams and achieve whatever she set her heart on. It's fantastic to find a book and a play where girls and women are portrayed as strong, smart, creative, and resilient."

The performance features young performer Aida Valentine as Jane, who has performed in many previous productions with OCT, including Flora & Ulysses, James & the Giant Peach and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience. "Jane is a role of a lifetime for a young performer, and we're fortunate to have an actor who's grown up on our stages, and is ready to take on the heart, passion, and complexity of playing Jane Goodall," Crowson says of Valentine. Hillary Hoover plays Jane's 'Mum,' with ensemble actors Paige Rogers, Heath Hyun Houghton, and Raphael Likes rounding out the cast of neighbors and neighborhood animals.

The creative team includes Crowson (Director and OCT's Interim Artistic Director), Mak Kastelic (Musical Director), Megan Smith (Choreographer), Val Landrum (Dialect Coach), Emily Trimble (Stage Manager), Kristeen Crosser (Scenic Designer), Allison Johnson (Costume Designer), James Mapes (Lighting Designer), Rory Stitt (Sound Designer), and Ian Anderson-Priddy (Production Electrician).

Tickets are on sale now, starting at $15 with group rates available. To purchase or learn more, call the box office at 503-228-9571 or visit www.octc.org

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