Latest news with #Children'sTheatreCompany
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Children's Theatre can't let it go, extends run for 'Frozen' musical
Less than a month after its debut with the Children's Theatre Company, "Disney's Frozen The Broadway Musical" has been extended at the Minneapolis theater. Seven additional performances of the musical will hit the stage, keeping "Frozen" running through June 22. Based on the once-ubiquitous Disney film Frozen, the musical, which features new songs and flashy costume changes, was originally scheduled to close on June 15 but will get the extension "due to extremely high popular demand," the theater announced on Tuesday. The additional performances will take place on these dates: Wednesday, June 18, at 2 p.m. Friday, June 20, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 22, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. That run includes a sensory-friendly performance on Friday, June 20, at 2 p.m. The Children's Theatre's production, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene, features eye-catching sets and frequent outbursts of laughter from kids in the crowd. Its staging of the Tony-winning musical allows some of the more subtle themes from the movie to shine through, even when they add a touch of darkness to the journey of Anna and Elsa. Tickets for the complete run of "Disney's Frozen The Broadway Musical" are on sale now.
Axios
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
"Frozen" hits Minneapolis with a fresh chill
Winter's snow and ice return to the Twin Cities in full force this spring, courtesy of the Children's Theatre Company. State of the stage: A local run of Disney's "Frozen" debuts this week, bringing heart-melting magic — with a few fresh twists— to Minneapolis. The big picture: The playhouse's spin on the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical is designed to delight both Elsa-obsessed kids and adults who have seen the movie approximately 7 billion times, director Tiffany Nichole Greene told Axios. What to expect: The plot, music and script haven't changed. Fans will recognize their favorite characters, moments and songs, including the iconic ear worm, "Let It Go." But Greene says her "non-replica" interpretation is layered and "a little bit more gritty," with "bread crumbs that I think will allow adult audience members to feel seen and connected with." What she's saying: "My take is, I'm not directing a children's show at all," Greene, whose resume includes directing touring performances of "Hamilton," said. "You will absolutely feel the difference when you watch." Between the lines: Greene's trying to make her mark on the story without changing a word, leaning into themes of love, loss and loneliness that resonate with audience members of all ages. "The way that someone walks in a room and says hello to you will tell you everything, right?" Greene said. "They can do it with a smile, or they can do it like they don't want to speak to you." Case in point: When it comes to Anna, one of the separated sisters at the center of the movie, she sought to create someone "who is just not immune and bouncing around and bubbly for no reason, [but] who has to wake up in the morning and choose joy because she's actually lonely." Plus: While the costumes and hair will look familiar to the pint-sized audience members wearing flouncy blue dresses and long braided wigs of their own, adults may notice there's "a little more point to the shapes," Greene said. Unlike in the movie, Anna's trademark white streak of hair — a remnant of being "frozen" by her sister's ice powers — sticks around until the curtain closes, as a nod to the scars that stay with us even after a happy ending, Greene says. Zoom out: The local production features a cast from both the Twin Cities and New York, the Star Tribune notes, with an alum of the Broadway tour of "Dear Evan Hansen" stepping into the role of Elsa. That actress, Gillian Jackson Han, told the paper that she remembers dressing as the ice queen the first Halloween after the movie debuted in 2013. If you go: Tickets for the show, which celebrates its official "opening night" on Saturday and runs through June 15 at the CTC's UnitedHealth Group Stage, start at $20, including fees. Children 3 and under can sit on an adult's lap for free.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Wizard of Oz,' return of 'Grinch' highlight Children's Theatre's 2025-26 season
As it prepares to open a stage adaptation of Disney's "Frozen" on April 15, the Children's Theatre Company has unveiled its packed 2025–26 season. The season, its first to be entirely programmed by new Artistic Director Rick Dildine, features the return of one of the theater's staples, whimsical creates, and an adaptation of a classic story. 'I am excited to share with you the incredible lineup for next season at Children's Theatre Company, a season that is all about mentorship, teamwork, confidence, and curiosity,' Dildine said in a statement. 'These shows have been carefully selected to inspire, engage, and challenge young audiences, while encouraging them to embrace their potential and explore the world around them.' The season will start with "Treasure Island" on Sept. 9, a seafaring production where a young boy named Jim must decide whether the swashbuckling Long John Silver is a friend or foe. Adapted by Stuart Paterson, the play will be directed by Dildine. It'll be followed by a production of "Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile," a one-hour musical that was originally produced by the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Roald Dahl Story Company, and Leeds Playhouse. It will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 23. That'll run into the return of the CTC's annual presentation of "Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas." The new year kicks off with "Go, Dog. Go! Ve Perro ¡Ve!," a "spectacle" geared toward younger audiences that will be performed from Jan. 20 to Feb. 22, 2026. It's a bilingual adaptation P.D. Eastman's classic children's book Go, Dog, Go! The CTC will then launch "Dinosaur World Live" on March 3. "Are you brave enough to face a T-rex? Do you know what it feels like to get sneezed on by a triceratops?" the event's description asks. "Find out when dinosaurs take over CTC! Feel the rumble of their rawrs as a young paleontologist takes you on a tour so up-close-and-personal you'll almost smell their stinky breath!" The event is followed by a 15-minute meet-and-greet with the titular dinos. Then a tornado whirls into town, dropping what will liekly be a hot ticket. "The Wizard of Oz" touches down to close out the season (just months after Wicked: For Good arrives in movie theaters) from April 21 to June 14. In the midst of the season, the theater will also present "Forts! Build Your Own Adventure" from Feb. 13 to April 5. It's an interactive experience where the audience is "surrounded by old sofas, crazy lampshades, piles of blankets, and towering towers of cardboard boxes," the CTC says. "It's like the coolest attic you've ever seen, where everything's up for grabs." Season tickets for the Children's Theatre Company's 2025-26 season are on sale now.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Children's Theatre workers ratify first union contract
Unionized public-facing staff for the Children's Theatre Company (CTC), the largest theater for young people in the United States, have unanimously approved their first union contract. The agreement covers the Minneapolis theater's nearly 50 ushers, ticket takers, concession workers, front-of-house and box office associates, and other positions, all of whom are represented by the IATSE Local 13. Staff began organizing in February 2023 and had their union voluntarily recognized in January 2024. Just over a year of negotiations followed, during which the theater had multiple leadership changes, including the arrival of Rick Dildine, the first new Artistic Director at the CTC in nearly 30 years. "While bargaining began slowly, we have appreciated the consistent attention to these negotiations from CTC throughout and since the company underwent a change in both the artistic and managing director roles last summer," an IATSE representative said in a statement. In the new contract, workers prioritized language protecting diversity and accessibility, agreements that were reached quickly per an announcement from both parties. IATSE members also prioritized health and safety precautions, particularly around repritory illnesses like COVID-19.
