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News Releases 
CTC's 2005/2006 Season includes 2 stages, 3 world premieres and 4 productions for new audiences 
For Immediate Release: March 30, 2005
Minneapolis, MN - For the first time in its history, The Children's Theatre Company will produce 10 productions on two stages in one season. In addition to its six-production Main Stage season, the Theatre will inaugurate its second performance space, the Cargill Stage, by presenting one play for pre-schoolers and three productions for teens. The ten-play season is proudly sponsored by Target.
CTC's first two-stage season celebrates the Theatre's continuing commitment to new play development with three world premieres by nationally recognized playwrights Barry Kornhauser, Lynne Alvarez and Naomi Iizuka. The season also includes international productions from Holland and Sweden, an American premiere by Welsh playwright Charles Way, a regional premiere by Will Power, two fantastic musicals, and the return of CTC's homage to "prom."
"This season is a further realization of our mission and our dreams," said Peter C. Brosius, CTC artistic director. "We continue in our efforts to bring the most exciting new work to our stage and in our commitment to search for outstanding work by local, national and international theater artists. This season is exceptional because we finally have an opportunity to extend that work to pre-schoolers and teens on the Cargill Stage."
CTC has been committed to supporting the development of new work and bringing it to the stage since Brosius arrived in 1997. CTC has produced 16 world premieres to date that were developed in its new play lab, THRESHOLD, including Brooklyn Bridge, The Monkey King, Snapshot Silhouette, PROM, Korczak's Children, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, and Mississippi Panorama. Multiple plays are in development at any given time, over several years. Under the leadership of Elissa Adams, CTC's director of new play development, world premieres for the 2005/2006 season are Reeling (a silent film on stage) by Barry Kornhauser; Esperanza Rising (the story of a young Mexican girl who must abandon the life she knows) by Lynne Alvarez based on the book by Pam Muñoz Ryan; and Anony(mous): an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey (a global immigrant story) by Naomi Iizuka.
The international theater community will be represented in the season by famed Swedish puppet theater artists Dockteatern Tittut performing A Cat's Journey for two to five year-olds, and by multi-cultural, multi-disciplinary artists ISH from Holland, performing a theater extravaganza called 4-ISH for ages 8 and up. For teens, Will Power will perform his acclaimed and applauded narrative rap monologue Flow and CTC will collaborate with Whit MacLaughlin to bring the Twin Cities' top-ten listed production of PROM to the stage again.
The season also includes Charles Way's adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, making its American debut; Astrid Lindgrin's irrepressible Pippi Longstocking, taking the stage after a five-year absence; and Disney's Aladdin making its professional theater debut on the CTC stage for the holidays.
CTC Main Stage
The 2005/2006 season will open with the American premiere of Sleeping Beauty by Welsh playwright Charles Way. When the much-wanted only child of a King and Queen is doomed to die by the prick of a spindle, protection is provided. All but the King and Queen are put to sleep for a hundred years and it is dictated that only a kiss will awaken the princess. This production, which explores the journey from childhood to adulthood, will be a funny, true and muscular telling of the challenges and transformation of a young Prince whose path leads him to awaken a willful sleeping beauty. This American premiere was commissioned and first produced at The Polka Theatre in London and was subsequently produced in Johannesburg, Sweden and Russia. Directed by Greg Banks (who previously directed Antigone at CTC), the production previews August 23, 24 & 25, opens on Friday, August 26 and runs through October 29, 2005.
Running in repertory with Sleeping Beauty is 4-ISH, an ensemble theater piece created around disciplines not typically seen in theater or in combination – acrobatic stunts, dance on inline skates, street dance, break dance, video art, a live mix by a DJ, martial arts, acrobatics, rap, and beatbox. Called "Dance and theatre, wrapped in a cocoon of hip-hop, inline skating, humour and general sensory overload," by the Edmonton Sun, 4-ISH is performed by ISH, multi-cultural theater artists from Amsterdam. Created and directed by ISH founder Marco Gerris, the production previews August 31 & September 1, opens on Friday, September 2 and runs through October 8, 2005.
CTC will celebrate the holidays with Disney's Aladdin, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book adaptation by Jim Luigs, music adaptation and arrangement by Bryan Louiselle, based on the screenplay by Ron Clements, John Musker, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Long a beloved animated film and theater piece previously only seen at Disneyland, CTC will stage the first professional production of this new version of Disney's Aladdin. With dancing genies, soaring carpets and contagious songs (including "A Whole New World"), this Arabian tale of true love will thrill Twin Cities' families this holiday season. Directed by Matthew Howe, the production previews November 15, 16 & 17, opens on Friday, November 18, 2005 and runs through January 6, 2006.
CTC will race into the New Year with the world premiere of Reeling by Barry Kornhauser. Inspired by the slapstick, melodrama, and pratfalls of the comedic silent films of the 1920s, Reeling is both sweet and madcap. The plays follows a little, put-upon fellow as he navigates through a world of Keystone Kop chases and narrow escapes, all the while pining for the love of his life. It is the best of the early days of motion pictures, live and onstage today. Directed by Peter C. Brosius, the production previews January 17, 18 & 19, opens on Friday January 20 and runs through March 4, 2006.
CTC's second winter production will be the world premiere of Esperanza Rising, by Lynne Alvarez, adapted from the award-winning book by Pam Muñoz Ryan. This play is the story of a young girl caught between two countries, two cultures and two languages. Circumstances dictate that young Esperanza must flee the comforts of her home in Mexico and cross the border into California to face the difficulties of the Great Depression, labor camps and labor strikes. The production is both lyrical and political, and deals with the strength of a mother-daughter relationship. The production previews March 14, 15 & 16, opens on Friday, March 17 and runs through April 15, 2006.
Closing CTC's 2005-2006 main stage season is Pippi Longstocking, written by Astrid Lindgren, with English translation by Thomas W. Olson and Truda Stockenstrom, music by Roberta Carlson, and lyrics by Roberta Carlson and Thomas W. Olson. With her red pigtails, freckles on her nose, and mismatched socks, Pippi Longstocking is one of the most beloved characters in children's literature (Astrid Lindgren's book is the 12th most translated book in the world), and on the CTC stage. With her mother an angel in heaven, and her father a pirate at sea, this independent girl lives in a house with a horse on the porch and a monkey named Mr. Nilsson. Directed by Matthew Howe, the production previews April 25, 26 & 27, opens on Friday, April 28 and runs through June 18, 2006.
Cargill Stage at CTC
CTC's inaugural programming for pre-schoolers is The Cat's Journey, adapted by Fabrizio Montecchi from Sweden's beloved children's book Kattresan by Ivar Arosenius, with puppets by Nicoletta Garioni and translation by Anne-Charloette Hanes Harvey expressly for the U.S. premiere at CTC. Performed by leading Swedish puppet theater artists Dockteatern Tittut (Peek-A-Boo Puppet Theater), the play steps inside the warm and welcoming world of Lillian and the cat, where colors and shapes shimmer and shift, and suddenly shadows come magically alive. The company uses 41 puppets, two easels and a rattan trunk to take the children on a fantastic journey that doesn't distinguish between fantasy and reality. Dockteatern Tittut was established in 1977 and is one of the world's first and oldest theaters performing for very young audiences (ages 2-5). The theater, which has spent many years developing a unique dramatic aesthetic for very young children, has been awarded several distinctions, including Prix d'ASSITEJ (International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People). The production previews October 4, 5 & 6, opens on Friday, October 7 and runs through October 30, 2005.
The launch of CTC's teen programming on the Cargill Stage will be Flow, conceived, written and performed by Will Power with direction and development by Danny Hoch. Called "…one of the Top 10 NYC 2003 Theatre Performances," by the New York Times, Flow is a b-boy fairy tale spun over funky, original hip hop beats. The work chronicles the lives of seven storytellers and their quest for survival in a world of urban pitfalls. Will Power is a globally acclaimed actor, rapper, playwright and educator who explores race, HIV, violence and intergenerational communication with finesse and dexterity. Viewed as a pioneer in the genre of Hip Hop Theatre, Power has created his own niche in theatrical communication, fusing original music, rhymed language and fierce choreography to compelling full works. The New York Times went on to say that Flow "combines the complexity of serious drama with the visual and sonic arsenal of MTV." The production previews November 2 & 3, opens on Friday, November 4 and runs through November 20, 2005.
The Children's Theatre Company continues its programming for teen audiences with a re-staging of PROM: No Turning Back, a theatrical collaboration between CTC and Philadelphia's New Paradise Laboratories that was first performed in the 2003-04 season. Cited as "Best Stage Production" by City Pages and one of the top ten plays of 2004 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, PROM was created under the direction of Whit MacLaughlin, artistic director of New Paradise Laboratories. PROM is a fantastic voyage into the wicked and weird thing called "Prom." This theatrical experience is a competition between the students who are pushing to the future and their chaperones, who are holding on to the past. PROM is an opportunity to infiltrate the very soul of the most incredible, most overrated, most complicated and most outrageous event of your high school career. The production previews February 14, 15 & 16, opens on Friday, February 17 and runs through March 19, 2006.
PROM was originally commissioned as part of CTC's teen programming initiative, funded in part by the Wallace Foundation LEAP grant (Leadership in Excellence in Arts Participation) and the Rockefeller Foundation MAP fund (Muli-Arts Production).
Closing the Cargill Stage season is the world premiere of Anon(ymous): an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey by Naomi Iizuka. The traveler in this contemporary tale is a refugee from Southeast Asia named Anon. As he becomes nearly invisible in a new country he must not only contend with losing his identity, but also struggle to rebuild his life. The world he travels is peopled with ghosts and gods, as well as memories of war in this absurd and rhythmic journey of energy, discovery and reality. Directed by Peter C. Brosius, the production previews April 4, 5 & 6, opens on Friday, April 7 and runs through April 29, 2006.
"We are so pleased to have Target as our season sponsor in this particularly pivotal year," said Teresa Eyring, CTC managing director. "Our entire community benefits from their ongoing generosity and commitment to making the arts accessible for everyone."
Minneapolis-based Target serves guests at 1,330 stores in 47 states nationwide by delivering today's best retail trends at affordable prices. Whether visiting a Target store or shopping online at Target.com, guests enjoy a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to thousands of unique and highly differentiated items. Target (NYSE:TGT) gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962 Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.
Season subscriptions for The Children's Theatre Company are available immediately. Five-play package prices for Main Stage productions range from $49-$105 for children, students and seniors, and $71-$128 for adults. Three-play package prices range from $35-$76 for children, students and seniors, and $51-$92 for adults. There is also a new teen package for the Cargill Stage. Prices for the teen three-play package are $48 for teens (20 and under) and $78 for adults. In addition, all 10 productions for 2005-2006 are available in a two-stage season package. For subscribers, Disney's Aladdin tickets range from $15-$33 for children, students and seniors, and $20-$39 for adults. Single tickets for all productions (excluding Disney's Aladdin) go on sale July 25, 2005. For further information, call The Children's Theatre Company ticket office at 612/874-0400 or visit our website at www.childrenstheatre.org.
Select photos are available at www.ctcpix.org.
The Children's Theatre Company is the recipient of the 2003 Regional Theatre Tony® Award for Outstanding Theatre.
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