CHICAGO: Chicago Children’s Theatre, dedicated to plays for young audiences, has announced its 2015–16 season. The lineup will feature seven productions, including a world premiere by Nambi E. Kelley.
First up will be Goodnight Moon & The Runaway Bunny (Sept. 29–Oct. 11), from Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia, which will bring Margaret Wise Brown’s stories to life using puppets and original music.
Next will be The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Oct. 23–Nov. 15), adapted by Dwayne Hartford from Kate DiCamillo’s book, and directed by Stuart Carden. Edward Tulane, a china rabbit, gets lost at sea and goes from owner to owner over the span of decades. Jessie Fisher (Once on Broadway) stars.
The world premiere of A Snow Day with Beatrix Potter & Friends (Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 12 and 19), an interactive production devised by Will Bishop, will follow. Potter’s iconic stories will be told through a series of mechanical suitcase sculptures, and audiences will be able to pull levers and turn cranks.
The first show of the new year will be Snowflake (Jan. 27–Feb. 14, 2016), devised and performed by Gale LaJoye (and originally performed in 1990). The mostly wordless musical tale follows an imp who transforms old, useless objects into new treasures.
The Quest Theatre in Calgary will bring its devised show Snow Angel to CCT (Feb. 16–21, 2016). Also wordless, the show celebrates the beauty of winter through the eyes of a brother and sister.
Next is Seedfolks (April 6–17, 2016) by Paul Fleischman. In it, one woman plays 14 characters in telling the story of the founding and first year of a community garden in an immigrant neighborhood in Cleveland. Seedfolks originally premiered at Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis; CTC artistic director Peter C. Brosius will direct the Chicago engagement.
Closing out the season will be an untitled world premiere by Nambi E. Kelley (April 26–May 22, 2016) about the Civil Rights Movement as seen through the eyes of a child. Lili-Anne Brown, artistic director of Bailiwick Chicago, will direct.
