Children's Theatre Company facts for kids

Exterior view

The Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is a special theater that started in 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It creates plays especially for families, young people, and even very young children. It's the biggest theater in the United States for audiences of all ages. In 2003, it won a Tony Award for being an amazing regional theater. Time magazine even called it the best children's theater in the U.S. in 2004.

Children’s Theatre Company has two main stages. The UnitedHealth Group Stage can seat 747 people. The Cargill Stage is more flexible and can seat up to 300. A famous architect named Michael Graves designed an expansion for the theater in 2003. This made the production areas almost twice as big and added the Cargill stage and a new lobby.

History of CTC

The theater was first started by John Clark Donahue and Beth Linnerson. It was called The Moppet Players from 1961 to 1965. In 1965, it became part of the education department of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Then, in 1975, it became its own independent non-profit organization.

Many of the plays at CTC are new versions of popular children's literature. These include stories like Pippi Longstocking, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Cinderella, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, A Year with Frog and Toad, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Alice in Wonderland. Some of these plays have been performed by the company for many years. The actors in these shows are a mix of adults and young performers. Recent plays and musicals are written by top playwrights. They include completely new stories and adaptations of books by popular authors like Matt De La Peña, Jeff Kinney, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kate DiCamillo, and Jacqueline Woodson.

The theater first started in a restaurant's donated space. Then, it moved to an old fire station that was also donated. Today, it is located right next to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Who Leads CTC

The theater was founded by John Clark Donahue, along with John Burton Davidson, Shirley Diercks, Martha Pierce Boesing, and Beth Leinerson. Jon Cranny was the theater's second artistic director from 1984 to 1997. After him, Peter C. Brosius became the third artistic director. He worked alongside several managing directors, including Theresa Eyring (1999–2007), Gabriella Callichio (2007–2011), Tim Jennings (2011–2015), Kimberly Motes (2016–2024), and Jill A. Anderson (2024–Present). Peter Brosius was the longest-serving Artistic Director in the history of Children’s Theatre Company.

New Plays and Partnerships

In 1998, under Peter Brosius's leadership, the theater created a special "new play laboratory." This lab works with leading playwrights, composers, designers, and directors. Over 200 new plays have been developed there, and most of them had their very first performances at Children’s Theatre Company.

The theater has also teamed up with other big theater producers like Kevin McCollum, Buena Vista Theatricals, and Universal Theatrical Group. They also partner with other important regional theaters such as The Old Globe Theatre, New Victory Theater, Alliance Theatre, and Arena Stage. For example, the original production of A Year with Frog and Toad moved to Broadway and was nominated for three Tony Awards. It finished its run at the Cort Theatre on Broadway in June 2003.

The theater also helped create Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Musical. They worked with Broadway producer Kevin McCollum, Buena Vista Theatrical, and Jeff Kinney, who wrote the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. This musical first premiered in 2016 and had another production in 2022.

In 2021, Children’s Theatre Company joined forces with several other theaters: Penumbra (from Saint Paul, MN), Ma-Yi Theater Company (from New York City, NY), Latino Theater Company (from Los Angeles, CA), and Native Voices at the Autry (from Los Angeles, CA). They received a large grant to create a program called "Generation Now." This program will help create 16 new plays by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian American Pacific Islander writers. These plays are for audiences of all ages. The goal of "Generation Now" is to make theater more welcoming for everyone and to create many new and exciting plays.

In 2023, the theater premiered a brand new musical version of An American Tail the Musical. This musical is based on the 1986 Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film.

Plays for New Audiences

Plays for New Audiences (PNA) is a part of Children's Theatre Company that licenses scripts. This means they help other theaters get the rights to perform plays for audiences of all ages and for actors of different ages. PNA's collection includes plays and musicals that were produced, created, and chosen by theaters that focus on young audiences. These include Seattle Children's Theatre, Chicago Children's Theatre, and Imagination Stage, along with plays created by Children's Theatre Company itself.

Plays for New Audiences started in July 2004. Its goal was to share scripts developed by Seattle Children's Theatre and the Children's Theatre Company with professional and amateur theaters, churches, libraries, and schools.

Notable Playwrights

Notable Composers

Notable Actors