Tickets On Sale Now for AN AMERICAN TAIL THE MUSICAL World Premiere & More at Children’s Theatre Company

“Since the moment I applied that first dab of green makeup, ten years ago, The Grinch has been my absolute favorite role to portray,” states Acting Company Member Reed Sigmund who will be portraying The Grinch for a fifth time this season. “It’s a character that’s endlessly rich with opportunities to dynamically explore the full spectrum of human emotions. And I love stories of transformation. This story reminds us that fear and hate are easy, but difficult growth and change are more rewarding for ourselves and our communities. Plus, it comes at a time of year when I get to pound gallons of Christmas cookies. This is show I can’t wait to celebrate once more!”

Winter ushers in a heartwarming tale of a young person’s discovery of his love for poetry with Locomotion, based on the book written and adapted for the stage by Jacqueline Woodson and directed by Talvin Wilks (This Bitter Earth (Penumbra), On the Way to Timbuktu (3 AUDELCO Award nominations including Best Director). Uprooted from his family, Lonnie couldn’t feel more alone. But when his class learns to write poetry, his verses take him back to a time of togetherness. As he finds his voice as a poet, poetry will bring you closer to others and yourself. Running January 24 through March 5, 2023, on the Cargill Stage, this production is best for ages 9 and up.

“Locomotion is a very important work in our current era of more diverse storytelling,” states Director Talvin Wilks. “The opportunity to see a young Black male’s journey as a universal story of overcoming hardships and the challenges of adolescence is vital and revelatory. That CTC is making a commitment to diversifying the canon of young protagonists is an important and vibrant investment, not only for youths of color to see themselves and their experiences on stage, but for all youth to begin to broaden their understanding of universality, the act of seeing oneself through the lives of others. This opportunity is a great gift for our new era of awareness, and Jacqueline Woodson has created a story for everyone, a story that I am very excited to realize on stage.”

Oh no! Corduroy’s button has gone missing, and he can’t go home with kindhearted Lisa without it! Join the beloved teddy bear as he takes a rollicking ride up the escalator and begins a delightfully destructive romp through every section of the department store. Will he find his button at the top of a teetering store display? Will Lisa ever get to bring him home, or will the bumbling security guard catch him first? Where, oh where, is Corduroy’s BUTTON? Based on the Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy books by Don Freeman and adapted for the stage by Barry Kornhauser, this play had its world premiere at CTC in 2018 and has gone to be a highly produced production through our licensing house, Plays for New Audiences along with receiving the AATE Distinguished Play Award. Directed by Peter C. Brosius, this play runs February 14 through April 2, 2023, on the UnitedHealth Group Stage, this play is best for ages 4 and up.

“Corduroy, with its title character’s quest for his missing button, is the story of a little toy bear’s very real need to find a ‘Friend’ and a place to call home, along with that of a little girl’s corresponding need to bring that bear home – as a Friend,” states Playwright Barry Kornhauser. “I’m absolutely delighted that this little adaptation of that story has found a home once again with all of its ‘Friends’ at Children’s Theatre Company where the play was first nurtured and produced. It is always a gift and a joy to work with Peter [Brosius] and his brilliant and passionate team as they bring classic children’s literature to life so vividly, so imaginatively, and so lovingly. Corduroy may have lost a button, but Corduroy has found its way back to the CTC stage, and for that I am ‘beary’ grateful.”

CTC rounds out the season with the incredible world premiere production, based on the award-winning Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film, An American Tail the Musical with book and lyrics by Tony® Award-winning playwright Itamar Moses (The Bands Visit, Boardwalk Empire), music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler (Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical, The Secret of My Success), and directed by Taibi Magar (We Live in Cairo (A.R.T.), Blue Ridge, The Great Leap (Atlantic Theatre Company), and choreography by Katie Spelman (Helen Hayes nominated, associate choreographer Moulin Rouge, Olney Theater, Lookingglass Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, and more). The film received critical praise and was nominated for an Academy Award and received two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. An army of cats forces young Fievel Mousekewitz and his family to escape from Russia by boat. When a storm at sea separates them, Fievel arrives alone in the vast city of New York. In this riveting new musical based on the hit animated film, the steadfastly optimistic Fievel makes his way as a new immigrant, encountering friends and foes (including a few scene-stealing cockroaches!). Despite everything stacked against him, Fievel clings to his dreams of a better life and reuniting with his family. Are they Somewhere Out There? Best for all ages, this musical runs April 25 through June 18, 2023, on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. An American Tail the Musical is proudly sponsored by Thomson Reuters.

“A lot of people, and maybe especially people of my generation, remember An American Tail as one of the animated film classics of the 1980s, so getting to work on adapting it has been thrilling, first of all, on that level,” stated Playwright Itamar Moses. “But looking at this material again through the lens of 2022 reveals the urgent timeliness-and indeed timelessness-of a story about America’s fundamental origins as a place people, or in this case mice, came from all over the world seeking a better life, the imperfect place they found when they got here, but the potential for that place to be the beacon it’s meant to be if only we can all work together. And, of course, it’s also just the story of a small, but very resourceful mouse, who gets separated from his family and tries to find them again.”

How to Purchase Tickets

A Children’s Theatre Company Original Production

November 8, 2022-January 8, 2023

UnitedHealth Group Stage

Best for all ages

Locomotion

Written and adapted for the stage by Jacqueline Woodson
Directed by Talvin Wilks
January 24-March 5, 2023
Cargill Stage
Best for ages 9 and up

Corduroy

Based on the Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy books by Don Freeman

Adapted for the stage by Barry Kornhauser

Directed by Peter C. Brosius

A Children’s Theatre Company Original Production

February 14-April 2, 2023

UnitedHealth Group Stage

Best for ages 4 and up

An American Tail the Musical

Book and Lyrics by Itamar Moses
Music and Lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler
Based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment animated film
A Children’s Theatre Company Commissioned World Premiere Production
In association with Universal Theatrical Group
Directed by Taibi Magar
Choreography by Katie Spelman

April 25-June 18, 2023
UnitedHealth Group Stage
Best for all ages

Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people and serves a multigenerational audience. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire for more than 250,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the coveted Tony Award® for regional theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony® nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to creating world-class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

CTC is the most significant provider of accessible theatre education opportunities in the region. Every year, thousands of children experience theatre for the first time at CTC. Our student matinees and education programs demonstrably benefit the community, from the intergenerational conversations sparked by our world premieres, to the sequential skill-building that happens in our Theatre Arts Training, to the pre-K focus of our Early Childhood Initiative. ACT One is CTC’s comprehensive platform for access, diversity, and inclusion in our audiences, programs, staff, and board that strives to ensure the theatre is a home for all people, all families, reflective of our community.