Bay Area Children's Theatre Presents PIPPI LONGSTOCKING, Opening Today

Annika and Tommy are in for some excitement when they meet their new neighbor, Pippi Longstocking, who has crazy red pigtails, a horse, a pet monkey named Mr. Nilsson, and a tendency to get caught up in one outrageous adventure after another.

Families can join in Pippi 's adventures when revered Swedish author Astrid Lindgren's classic heroine comes to the Bay Area in a rollicking production ofPippi Longstocking, presented by the Bay Area Children's Theatre (BACT), with support from the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

Whether Pippi is fending off burglars, wrestling a circus strongman, or sailing away on a pirate ship, she wins over even the sternest of hearts in this stage version of Lindgren's beloved book, adapted by Thomas W. Olson, with music by Roberta Carlson and Victor Zupanc.

Directed by Michael Mohammed and starring Jamella Cross as Pippi, Pippi Longstocking opens Saturday, January 21, at the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94703, and plays weekends at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. through February 12. Recommended for age 5 and up.

TICKETS: $25 adults, $23 seniors, $20 children, $15 groups (minimum 15)

BOX OFFICE: www.bactheatre.org or call (510) 296-4433

After its Berkeley run, the show moves to San Ramon for one weekend, February 18 and 19, and then to San Francisco, February 25 through March 19:

San Ramon: Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center, 10550 Albion Road, San Ramon, CA 94582, February 18 and 19, with performances at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

San Francisco: Children's Creativity Museum Theater, 221 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, weekends, February 25 through March 19, at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Artists

Michael Mohammed, director, returns to BACT after directing Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children's Musical in 2015. Mohammed's directing credits include Candide (Douglas Morrisson Theatre), The Full Monty (ACT, MFA program), X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (Oakland Opera Theater), Wilde Boys(New Conservatory Theater, BACC winner: Best Musical), The Unsung Diva (NY Fringe Festival), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera On Tap) and Carmen(Mendocino Music Festival). Mohammed directs the Musical Theatre Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where his productions have included Nine, Company, Bernarda Alba, World Goes Round, and La Boheme. He is on the faculty at the San Francisco Community Music Center and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and is working on his PhD through Columbia University. A classically trained singer, he performs regularly in musical theatre and opera in roles including Mitch (The 25th Annual...Bee, Busbarn Theater), Little Truth (The Great Big Also, Mugwumpin), Sister (Marat/Sade, Thrillpeddlers), Bertarido (Rodelinda, Handel Opera Project), and the title role in Handel's Orlando (Black Box Baroque).

Jamella Cross, Pippi, recently was honored by Theatre Bay Area as Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured Role In a Musical for her portrayal of Mixer in BACT's Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site-The Musical. Cross has most recently been seen as the fugitive slave, Roxie, in Aurora Theatre's production of Safe House. She has performed throughout the Bay Area at BACT (The Day the Crayon's Quit-the Musical, Bad Kitty), TheatreFirst (Stop Kiss), Berkeley Playhouse (Hairspray), Free Theater (Henry IV), Virago Theatre Company (Crooked), Ubuntu Theatre Project (Dance of the Holy Ghost) and 3Girls Company (Girl Talk).

((high-res .jpg attached of , l. to r., Chelsea Wellott as Annika, Jamella Cross as Pippi, and Kailah Cayou as Tommy. Photo credit: Melissa Nigro.))

The Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse is easily accessible by BART-an especially good choice right now while the parking garage down the street is closed for renovations.

About the Bay Area Children's Theatre

Established in 2004, the Bay Area Children's Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves more than 90,000 children and adults throughout the Bay Area, with main stage performances in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and San Ramon; selected productions in local schools; and classes and summer camps in more than 10 East Bay communities.

Our Mission: To inspire young audiences with imaginative productions, introduce children of all backgrounds to the excitement of live theatre, and create an engaging, entertaining, and educational environment in which children and their families can explore and enjoy the arts.

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