The cast and crew of “A Kids Play About Racism.” (Orlando Repertory Theatre / Courtesy photo)
Orlando Repertory Theatre is among 41 theaters nationwide co-presenting the online premiere of a free play about racism designed for children, and this version is directed by Khalia Davis of the Gurman Agency LLC.
“A Kids Play About Racism” will be shown Aug. 1-2 in the hopes of giving families a way to engage in meaningful conversation about racial issues. The play is adapted from “A Kids Book About Race” by Jelani Memory, a Black father with six children of different races.
Orlando Rep and the other presenters, led by the Bay Area Children’s
Theatre in California, Seattle Children’s Theatre and Alliance Theatre
in Atlanta, specialize in theater for young audiences. The online
presentation of “A Kids Play About Racism” will be available at get.broadwayondemand.com.
“This performance explains what racism is, how to know it when you see
and experience it, and ideas for what you can do about it,” reads the
website, kidsplayabout.org. The production is recommended for ages 5 and
up.
Read the full article by Matthew J. Palm from the Orlando Sentinel here.
In Imagination Stage’s production of Zomo The Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth, written by Psalmayene 24 with music by Nick “tha 1 da” Hernandez, hip-hop meets a Nigerian folktale. Zomo the Rabbit (Gary L. Perkins III) doesn’t feel like he fits in with other animals. And much to Zomo’s dismay, no one is interested in his raps. Zomo decides what he needs is power. He seeks out the Sky God (Melissa Carter). Sky God is dealing with the constant fighting among the animals and is in need of something to unite them. She decides to give Zomo a quest. To get his power (and secretly help Sky God with her problem), he must retrieve three items: Big Fish’s (Unissa Cruse) dancing shoes, Wild Cow’s (Jonathan Atkinson) spray paint cans, and Leopard’s (Inés Domínguez del Corral) beat machine. As Zomo goes about his quest, he starts to realize that it wasn’t power that he was looking for after all. Imagination Stage’s Zomo The Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth, directed by Raymond O. Caldwell, brings back old school hip-hop for a fun, interactive show for kids and adults.
From the dance moves (directed by Tiffany Quinn) to the music (created and directed by Nick Hernandez), the show is old school hip-hop to its core. The show references raps from the 70’s and 80’s. The raps aren’t so fast that they would lose kids. The rap styles are comfortingly familiar and you’ll keep trying to guess which rap styles were used as inspiration even after the show. The projections and scenic design, by Nate Sinnott, are colorful and are spot on for the graffiti art style associated with hip-hop.
The costumes, designed by Madison Booth, play on hip-hop elements and
pull from styles iconic of the 80’s and early 90’s. With the show being
set in D.C., adults and kids will enjoy little Easter eggs such as the
references to the Metro and the National Zoo.
The cast is an energetic and talented bunch. They keep the energy
going even during audience interactions. A clear first place for
audience favorite is the dance battle between Zomo and Big Fish. You get
to learn a move or two and get to cheer on your favorite dancer. Both
Perkins and Cruse have some seriously awesome moves. It doesn’t just
stop at the dance battle. There is yoga with Flamingo, a Mad Lib style
rap, and much more. Carter’s yoga obsessed Sky God is quite funny. Sky
God goes around spouting silly sayings to a confused Zomo almost like a
parent would to their child.
The show’s lesson about power is a good one. As Zomo goes on his
quest, he begins to realize that his actions to get power are hurting
Big Fish, Wild Cow, and Leopard. He learns that you have to earn power.
But, the show isn’t just a lesson about power. It’s a lesson in hip-hop.
You learn about hip-hop music and dance styles.
The only missed beat in this show? It’s a bit longer than it should
have been. There are a few scenes which stretch out a bit such as Zomo
meeting Wild Cow. These scenes don’t quite match the pacing of Zomo
meeting the other characters.
With its lovable characters and its creative storytelling, don’t run – “hop” to go see Imagination Stage’s Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth.
Dexter Singleton, director represented by the Gurman Agency, reads the loved children’s story There’s a FLY GUY In My Soup with his son before bedtime. Learn more about FLY GUY: THE MUSICAL right here.
Atlantyca Entertainment’s stage production Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space is launching a tour in Ontario, Canada.
The Ontario tour will begin in October 2018, premiering at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. In Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space, villains are threatening New Mouse City, and the only hope is Geronimo Stilton. The hero is launched into space on a top-secret mission to save the day.
Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space is based on the bestselling Italian book series by Elisabetta Dami and is adapted for the stage by John Maclay. The deal was secured by Atlantyca Live and brokered by the Gurman Agency, Atlantyca’s theatrical literary agent. Atlantyca’s first U.S. stage show launched in January 2016 with the premiere of The Oregon Children’s Theater’s Geronimo Stilton: Mouse in Space.
Dominic Dagdagan as Fly Guy with Katie McGee and Benjamin Nguyen.
“Fly Guy, the Musical,” the latest piece from Bay Area Children’s Theatre, has the jokes you’d expect — and miss if they weren’t there — from a show about an insect. There are lots of “buzz”-related puns, and the title character introduces himself by announcing his craving for “something tasty … like an old, dead fish.”
But this musical, which Austin Zumbro wrote, inspired by Tedd Arnold’s “Fly Guy” books, also accomplishes something loftier, which is to channel a child’s appreciation for the banal, even the germ-ridden — something adults in the audience could learn from.
The production follows Fly Guy (Dominic Dagdagan) as he goes from pest to pet at the hands of a benevolent young human, fittingly named Buzz (Benjamin Nguyen). Executive artistic director Nina Meehan conceived the show and directs. Recommended for ages 4 and older.
“Fly Guy, the Musical”: 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23. Through May 7. Freight and Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley; May 13-14. Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center, 10550 Albion Rd., San Ramon; May 20-June 11. $20-$25. Children’s Creativity Museum Theater, 221 Fourth St., S.F. (510) 296-4433. www.bactheatre.org
Katy Carkuff stars in “The Freshest Snow Whyte,” a futuristic, hip-hop update to the famous fairy tale.
Imagination Stage was so pleased with its hip-hop trilogy — “Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth,” 2009; “P. Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical,” 2012; and “Cinderella: The Remix,” 2014 — that it has commissioned the same team again.
Playwright Psalmayene 24 and composer Nick “tha 1da” Hernandez will soon unveil The Freshest Snow Whyte, the first of a five-play series about science, technology, engineering, art and math. “ ‘The Freshest Snow Whyte’ is my exploration of technology through the lens of hip-hop,” Morrison says.
The heroine of the title, a brilliant graffiti artist played by Katy Carkuff, lives in the year 3000. Instead of spray cans, she uses a graffiti device that she programs and then “sprays” onto walls (with the help of designer Tewodross Melchishua’s projections).
She raps to the audience:
Said my name is Snow Whyte
But not the Disney version
Cuz this remix
Is just a bit more urban
And these raps are tight
Just like a turban
My talent reveals the light
Like an open curtain
Replacing the evil stepmother is a jealous uncle named Kanye East (Calvin McCullough). A longtime graffiti star himself, he goes a little crazy when he hears that Snow Whyte is now considered the best graffiti artist in the land. His servant, 3 Pac (Frank Britton), and magic mirror, Mira (Jonathan Feuer), can’t reassure him. So he spirits his niece to a backwater planet where they still use spray cans and her work won’t be seen. Of course Snow Whyte triumphs.
Read the full article fro the Washington Posthere.
PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Saturday Night Live‘s Kate McKinnon will be starring in Netflix’s revival of The Magic School Bus: Rides Again as the voice of teacher Fiona. Fiona, who is the sister to the the original Ms. Valerie Frizzle, will bring the same comedy mayhem and science education as the original educational ’90s series. Frizzle. The TV series — which premiered on Sept.10, 1994, is based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen.
Here is a 10 minute video with author Matt de la Pena reading from his Newberry Award winning book, LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, on a special bus ride in Kansas City. Watch the video below:
Gurman Agency LLC currently represents the stage rights which will be adapted by Children’s Theatre Company (Minneapolis) and Chicago Children’s Theatre (Chicago).
Ernie Nolan, an award-winning director and playwright based in Chicago, has been named as the new artistic director of Nashville Children’s Theatre, beginning February 1, 2017. Nolan succeeds Scot Copeland, NCT Producing Artistic Director for 31 years, who died unexpectedly in February of this year.
“I am thrilled beyond measure to declare Ernie Nolan NCT’s next artistic director,” says Jamie Eskind, NCT Board Chair. “Ernie is an artist of the highest caliber and an esteemed leader in the field of theatre for young audiences. His inspired vision, collaborative spirit, and investment in what is special about NCT are the precise combination of abilities required to lead NCT into the future.”
“I am incredibly honored to be a part of NCT’s rich history of exceptional theatre for young people,” says Nolan. “I feel so lucky to be able to call an organization with such talented artists, top notch staff, and dedicated board my new home. I look forward to serving the children, families, and teachers of Nashville with programming that reflects Nashville’s amazing community and bring stories to life that both inspire emotional discovery and ignite a fierce passion for the arts.”
Nolan, in 2014, was the recipient of the Illinois Theatre Association’s Award for Excellence in Theatre for Young Audiences. As former Artistic Director of Emerald City Theatre, he helped create The Little Theatre, the nation’s first performance space dedicated exclusively to interactive and immersive theatrical experiences for early theatre goers ages five and under.
Nolan’s work as a playwright has been featured both nationally and internationally. He has adapted and directed such storybook favorites as If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, If You Take a Mouse to School, Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle. His work at The Broadway Playhouse includes A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fancy Nancy The Musical, Pinkalicious, The Cat in the Hat, Cinderella, Charlotte’s Web, and the world premiere of Hansel and Gretel: A Wickedly Delicious Musical Treat, written in collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Justin Roberts.
As resident artist of The Coterie Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, Nolan has directed and choreographed world premieres by such Tony-nominated artists as Willy and Rob Reale, Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, and Bill Russell and Henry Krieger. For Chicago Playworks he has directed The BFG, The Giver, The Witches, A Wrinkle in Time, Number the Stars, The Day John Henry Came to School, Peter Pan and Wendy and The Kid Who Ran for President. In March 2012, Ernie made his Off-Broadway debut as a choreographer with Lucky Duck at the New Victory Theatre.
Nolan is currently the International Representative for TYA USA to ASSITEJ, a global theatre for young audiences service organization. With his appointment at NCT, he is leaving his position as Assistant Professor of Theatre Studies at The Theatre School. He is a graduate of both the University of Michigan Musical Theatre Program (BFA Musical Theatre) and The Theatre School at DePaul University (MFA Directing).
The process of identifying a new artistic director for NCT began ten months ago. Frank Parsons, of the Center for Nonprofit Management, worked with NCT to conduct the search. The NCT Board of Trustees approved Nolan’s appointment unanimously in late November.
“We looked long and hard and were extremely deliberate in our search for a new artistic director,” Craige Hoover, chair of the search committee, says. “We were determined to find all of the qualities we wanted in one candidate and we believe we have that in Ernie.”
Nolan will visit the theater periodically over the next two months as he prepares for NCT’s 2017-2018 season, and will officially assume his post in February, 2017.
Daniel Brewer, a longtime collaborator of Copeland’s at NCT, has served as interim artistic director since the latter’s death.
About Nashville Children’s TheatreNashville Children’s Theatre is a professional theatre company providing the children,families and educators of Middle Tennessee with extraordinary shared theatrical experiencesthat inspire imagination, develop creativity, and build community.NCT was founded in 1931 by the Junior League of Nashville and is recognized as the oldestprofessional children’s theater in the country. A national leader in professional theater arts and education programs for young people, NCT was ranked by TIME magazine as one of the top five children’s theaters in the country.
Based on the series by R.L. Stine, First Stage Associate Artistic Director John Maclay and Music Director-Composer Danny Abosch have adapted the novel into a musical which will charm audiences of all ages. The “big kids” will immediately recognize the storyline from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera while the “littler ones” easily pick up on all the Disney references. When Brooke and Zeke are cast in a show about a phantom, strange things begin to happen at the school. Is someone playing tricks? Or is there a real phantom out to stop this production?
Director Niffer Clarke masterfully keeps the silly suspense turned up high amid the solid musical numbers and her own well-executed choreography. With Stine’s books, it’s the kids who are the smart ones and Brooke and Zeke certainly rule here as they try to figure out who—or what—is actually behind all the ominous warnings.
The Chills cast of young performers handled the acting chores at last Saturday’s matinée with the utmost enthusiasm and professionalism. Chantae Miller is already a veteran of local productions and it shows in her pitch-perfect performance as Brooke. Jake Koch’s Zeke is the perfect comic foil and Mallorey Wallace hits all the rights notes (literally) as “mean girl—kinda-sorta” Tina. Veteran stage actors Carrie Hitchcock and Chris Klopatek serve this production well as the befuddled teacher and scary janitor, respectively.
Read the full article by Harry Cherkinian from the Shepherd Expresshere.
