David Gonzalez's AESOP BOPS! Coming to the Upper West Side

Vital Theatre Company will present AESOP BOPS!, a family event with master storyteller David Gonzalez, for one performance only at 1 pm on Saturday, April 15 at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased by visiting www.iseats.net. The McGinn/Cazale Theatre is located on the 4th floor at 2162 Broadway at West 76th St.

Fast-paced, funny, and packed with audience participation, AESOP BOPS! features a potpourri of Aesop's classic stories including The Lion and the Mouse, The Fisherman and His Wife, and The Turtle's Shell. This feast of funky, physical storytelling leaves young audiences feeling like they had just performed the show too!

David Gonzalez is a professional storyteller, poet, playwright, musician and public speaker. He is a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department, and is the proud recipient of the International Performing Arts for Youth "Lifetime Achievement Award for Sustained Excellence". Mr. Gonzalez was named a Fellow of the Joseph Campbell Foundation and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience" forThe Frog Bride. David has created numerous productions, including the critically acclaimed ¡ Sofrito!with The Latin Legends Band, andMytholoJazz, both of which enjoyed sold-out runs at New Victory Theater.Sleeping Beautywas co-commissioned by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn College, and The McCallum Theater. David was a featured performer at theNational Storytelling Festival, and appeared for three seasons at the Royal National Theatre in London. The Man of the Housewas commissioned by, and premiered at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2013.

Mr. Gonzalez's work Double Crossed: The Saga of the St. Louistoured nationally, including a run at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.As If the Past Were Listening, was in Lincoln Center Institute's repertory for three seasons. Finding North, commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park ran at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. He co-wroteMariel, an Afro-Cuban musical that won the Macy's "New Play Prize for Young Audiences." David is also the librettist forRise for Freedom!, produced at the Cincinnati Opera, and wrote and producedJimi and Mr. B, a musical commissioned by the Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center. His poems forThe Carnival of the Animalswith classical piano virtuoso Frederic Chui, premiered in 2008. David was the host of New York Kids on WNYC for eight seasons, earned his doctorate from New York University's School of Education, and worked as a music therapist with handicapped children for many years. David's poetry project (City of Dreams) has performed at colleges, festivals, and theaters throughout the country. He is also the Director of Crisalida Communications which consults to arts and civic organizations helping them create effective community outreach programs. Online at davidgonzalez.com and crisalidacom.com.

Vital Theatre Company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. It commissions and produces three to five musicals for children each season. Since its founding in 1999, Vital Theatre Company has been honored with the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Musical, two Awards for Excellence by the Off-Off Broadway Review, and has received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being "a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre, done well and at modest prices" (Off-Off Broadway Review). Vital Theatre Company has presented over 100 original productions for hundreds of thousands of children and their families. Visit www.vitaltheatre.org for more.