Aurora Children's Playhouse Announces Early 2013 Events

Aurora Theatre assembles the best children's performers in the region, bringing them to Gwinnett County for the series Aurora Children's Playhouse. This winter will feature a great children's musical, a master puppeteer with a classic tale and a bilingual premiere of a beloved Atlanta tradition. During the colder months parents are often looking for exciting indoor activities for the family and Aurora Children's Playhouse provides three amazing performances for families with young children.

On January 26, don't miss the only public performance of Petite Rouge, the Aurora Learning Library's winter show that will be performed weekday mornings as a field trip for elementary school students. What Disney did for The Frog Prince, Joan Cushing does for Little Red Riding Hood. This new children's musical takes this classic children's story out of the woods and puts it into the swamp. Based on the popular children's book by Mike Artell & Jim Harris, Petite Rouge is a foot-stomping zydeco musical steeped in hot sauce. When the Big Bad Gator sets his sights on little duckling Petite Rouge and her basket of gumbo, he spies an easy meal. On the contrary, she leads him on a wild duck chase through the bayou, from New Orleans Mardi Gras all the way to a surprise ending. Saucy and colorful, no one does musicals like Aurora Theatre. This production is co-produced by Aurora Learning Library and Synchronicity Theatre.

Master puppeteer, David Stephens of All Hands Productions returns on February 2 with three enduring classics. "Run, run, run as fast as you can," says the star of The Adventures of the Gingerbread Man. In this 40 minute show, you'll follow this little troublemaker as he makes narrow escapes from unsuspecting cookie lovers. You'll also meet Redina, a little red hen who learns how to follow directions in a retelling of the classic story, The Little Red Hen. Friends Gripe and Bicker learn the value of working together when they are granted three wishes in a new version of The Three Wishes. The Adventures of the Gingerbread Man was originally created for The Center for Puppetry Arts in 2003 for an 8-week run of shows and returned for another run of sold-out performances in 2008.

Entertaining children since 1969, Piccadilly Puppets visits Aurora Theatre on February 9 with the bilingual premiere of their mainstay performance Butterfly Ballad/Balada de las Mariposas. Developed originally for the Callaway Gardens Butterfly Center, this story follows Katy and Kevin Caterpillar through the stages of their lives-from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly-and their fascinating migration to Mexico. This puppet show will be narrated by Mother Nature in both English and Spanish.

Aurora Children's Playhouse features the regions top children's performers, including: puppeteers, magicians, storytellers, jugglers and musicians intended for youngsters to have their first theatrical experiences. At about 45 minutes in length, perfect for the young attention span, these lively performances are fun for the whole family. Aurora Children's Playhouse performances are held on select Saturday mornings at 10AM unless otherwise noted.

Programming in Aurora Theatre's 2011-2012 Aurora Children's Playhouse is possible through generous support from Metro Waterproofing and the Metropolitan Atlanta Arts Fund.