Children's Theatre Company facts for kids
The Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is a special theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It started in 1965 and creates plays for families, young people, and even very young children. It's the biggest theater for all ages in the United States!
In 2003, CTC won a big award called the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Also, in 2004, Time magazine said it was the best theater for kids in the U.S.
The Children's Theatre Company has two main stages. The UnitedHealth Group Stage can seat 747 people. The Cargill Stage is smaller, seating up to 300. A famous architect named Michael Graves helped design the theater's expansion in 2003. This made the production areas much bigger and added the Cargill stage.
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History of the Theater
The theater's story began in 1961 with John Clark Donahue and Beth Linnerson. They called their group The Moppet Players. In 1965, it became part of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Then, in 1975, it became its own independent non-profit organization.
CTC often creates new plays based on popular children's literature. Some of these include Pippi Longstocking, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Cinderella, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. They also made A Year with Frog and Toad, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Alice in Wonderland. Many of these plays have been performed for many years.
The actors in CTC shows are a mix of adults and young performers. Recent plays have been written by top playwrights. They create new stories or adapt books by authors like Matt De La Peña, Jeff Kinney, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kate DiCamillo, and Jacqueline Woodson.
The theater first started in a restaurant. Then it moved to an old fire station. Today, it is located right next to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Who Leads the Theater
The Children's Theatre Company was founded by John Clark Donahue. Other founders included John Burton Davidson, Shirley Diercks, Martha Pierce Boesing, and Beth Leinerson.
Jon Cranny was the second artistic director from 1984 to 1997. After him, Peter C. Brosius became the third artistic director. He worked with several managing directors, including Kimberly Motes, who is there now. Peter C. Brosius was the longest-serving Artistic Director in the theater's history.
New Plays and Famous People
In 1998, the theater started a "new play laboratory." This is a place where they work with writers, composers, and designers to create brand new shows. More than 200 new plays have been developed here. Most of them had their very first performances at the Children’s Theatre Company.
CTC has worked with other big theater groups. These include Kevin McCollum, Universal Theatrical Group, and other well-known theaters like The Old Globe Theatre and New Victory Theater.
One of their most famous productions is A Year with Frog and Toad. This show moved to Broadway in New York City and was nominated for three Tony Awards!
The theater also helped create Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the Musical. They worked with Broadway producer Kevin McCollum and Jeff Kinney, who wrote the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. This musical first premiered in 2016 and was performed again in 2022.
In 2021, Children’s Theatre Company joined with several other theaters. They received a big 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 will be for audiences of all ages. The goal is to make theater more welcoming and to create many new stories.
The theater will also premiere a new musical version of An American Tail the Musical in 2023. This is based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film from 1989.
Notable Playwrights
Here are some of the talented writers who have worked with CTC:
- Itamar Moses
- Cheryl L. West
- Philip Dawkins
- Nilo Cruz
- Jeffrey Hatcher
- Kia Corthron
- Naomi Iizuka
- Barry Kornhauser
- Greg Banks
- Willie Reale
- Jerome Hairston
- Lloyd Suh
- Kari Margolis
- Larissa Fasthorse
Notable Composers
These are some of the composers who have created music for CTC shows:
- Lamont Dozier, Paris Ray Dozier
- Victor Zupanc
- Michael Mahler
- Alan Schmuckler
- David Mallamud
Notable Actors
Many great actors have performed at CTC, including:
- Laura Osnes
- Adam Shankman
- Lea Thompson
- Ann Kim
- Francesca Curran
- Ryan McCartan
- Vincent Kartheiser
- Josh Hartnett
- Alix Kendall
- Dean Holt
- Autumn Ness
- Reed Sigmund
- Rajane Katurah
- Mark Linn-Baker
2023–2024 Season
Here are some of the exciting shows from the 2023–2024 season:
- Cookin’ a sizzling entertainment, directed by Seung-Whan Song
- Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Juliany Taveras, based on the book by Christine Baldacchino and Isabelle Malenfant
- Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, based on the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
- The Carp Who Would Not Quit and Other Animal Stories by Reiko Ho
- Alice in Wonderland, based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Babble Lab (World Premiere) by Autumn Ness
- A Year With Frog and Toad, based on the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel
