Chi Children's Theatre To Present THE HOUDINI BOX

Master puppeteer Blair Thomas will direct and create puppetry for CCT's The Houdini Box, already a recipient of two prestigious development grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Book and lyrics are by Hannah Kohl, with original music by Mark Messing, music director of Chicago's #1 circus punk marching band Mucca Pazza.

If you're a fan of children's literature but not already familiar with children's author and illustrator Brian Selznick, all of that is about to change.

Selznick's 2008 Caldecott Award-winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is about to be Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese's first 3D family film. Paramount Pictures' much-anticipated Hugo, starring Jude Law, Chloe Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley and Johnny Depp, is set for national release on Nov. 23, 2011.

Meanwhile, Selznick's newest children's novel, Wonderstruck, has just been published by Scholastic Books and is receiving rave reviews.

And the Brian Selznick trifecta continues in January when Chicago Children's Theatre unleashes The Houdini Box, a world premiere musical adventure based on Selznick's popular first novel about a mischievous boy who receives a special box that just might contain the secrets of Harry Houdini's success.

Performances of Chicago Children's Theatre's The Houdini Box are Jan. 24-Mar. 4, 2012 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago. Press opening is Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 pm. For tickets and information, go to chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call the Mercury Theater box office, 773.325.1700.

CCT's Chicago run of The Houdini Box will be followed by a suburban remount, Mar. 14-25, 2012 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. For tickets and information, go to chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call the North Shore Center box office, 847.673.6300.

For discounted school, scout and group rates for either venue, contact GroupTix at (773) 327-3778 or visit GroupTix.net. The Houdini Box is recommended for ages 5 and up.

More about The Houdini Box

As famed escape artist Harry Houdini circles the globe performing one incredible stunt after another, Victor, a young devotee goes through his own rigorous magician's training - locking himself in closets, holding his breath under water and walking into walls. After a chance encounter with his hero, Victor receives a special box that just might contain the secrets of Houdini's great success.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Brian Selznick (author) cannot remember a time when he was not drawing and making things. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design with the intention of becoming a set designer for the theater, but a job designing window displays at Eeyore's Children's Bookstore in New York City changed his mind. Working at the store became a crash course in children's literature, and his first book was published while he worked there. His first book, The Houdini Box, which he wrote and illustrated, was inspired by a fascination with the famous magician and his secrets. He has illustrated both novels and picture books for other writers, including Frindle by Andrew Clements, the Sibert Honor books, When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan and Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley. His illustrations for Kerley's The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins won a Caldecott Honor Award in 2002. In 2008, his groundbreaking and breathtaking The Invention of Hugo Cabret was awarded the Caldecott Medal, and is now Martin Scorsese's first 3D family film, Hugo. Selnick's most recent book is the graphic novel Wonderstruck.

Blair Thomas (director) is the founder of Blair Thomas & Co., which provides magical theatrical experiences and illuminating connections to unique cultural traditions by combining live music, narrative literature and handcrafted objects. In 2008, Thomas and Chicago folk music legend Michael Smith created and performed a memorable, original adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant for Chicago Children's Theatre. Previously, as co-founder of Chicago's highly successful Redmoon Theater, Thomas spent a decade leading a vision to create large-scale spectacle theater, and was the principal creator behind all of its productions, parades and pageants, including Frankie & Johnny, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, the Winter Pageant and the All Hallow's Eve Halloween Parade.

Hannah Kohl (books/lyrics) is a composer/lyricist and playwright living in New York City. She has written book, music and lyrics for The Blackbird, Cake!, Tora Bora, and The National Archive of Memory, and books and lyrics for The Light and Leonardo, a musical about the last three months of the life of Leonardo da Vinci. She was a 2009-2010 Dramatists Guild Fellow for Musical Theatre and holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU.
Mark Messing (music) is a composer and musical agitator. He is Musical Director of circus punk marching band Mucca Pazza and has led the band from coast to coast through concert halls, public parks, neighborhood pubs and a dozen canoes on the Chicago River. He has composed music for numerous independent films including The First Breath of Tengan Rei (2009) by Junko Kajino and Ed M. Koziarski, and has been musical director for hundreds of theater performances. As Musical Director for Redmoon Theater he composed for 100 tiny radios at the Museum of Contemporary Art, a 35-foot drum tree at Millennium Park and musicians on stilts at Puppetropolis.

The cast for The Houdini Box features Alex Weisman as Victor, Sara Sevigny as Mother and Derek Hasenstab as Barker. Designers for The Houdini Box are TBA.
The Houdini Box performance schedule at Chicago's Mercury Theatre, Jan. 24-Mar. 4, 2012

Chicago Children's Theatre presents The Houdini Box Jan. 24-Mar. 4, 2012 at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago. Press opening is Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 pm.

Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 10:15 am; Friday times alternate as follows: Feb. 3 at 10 am and noon; Feb. 10 at 10:15 am and 7 pm; Feb. 17 at 10 am and noon; Feb. 24 at 10:15 and 7 pm. (Exceptions: No 10:15 am matinee on Friday, Jan. 27. Matinees on Friday, Mar. 2 start 15 minutes earlier, at 9:45 am and 11:45 am.) Weekend performance times are Saturday and Sunday at 11 am and 2 pm. Tickets are $26 for children; $36 for adults.

For tickets and information, go to chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call the Mercury Theater box office, 773.325.1700. For discounted school, scout and group rates, contact GroupTix at (773) 327-3778 or visit GroupTix.net.

Southport Avenue is a metered parking street. Surrounding residential streets are available for free parking before 6 pm. Lot parking is available at Blaine School, ½ block north of the theater for $10 for weekend performances only (credit card or exact change). Valet parking is provided at the entrance to the theater for $12, for weekend performances only. Via public transport, the Mercury is within walking distance from the CTA Brown line stop at Southport, Red Line stop at Addison, and convenient to the # 22 Clark, # 152 Addison, #9 Ashland and #80 Irving Park CTA bus lines. For complete information on directions and parking plus a list of neighboring restaurants, visit mercurytheaterchicago.com and click on "Plan Your Visit."

The Houdini Box schedule at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, Mar. 14-25, 2012

Ten days after the Mercury run, performances continue at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, Mar. 14-25. Performance times are Tuesday through Friday at 10:15 am; Saturday and Sunday 11 am and 2 pm. Tickets are $26 for children; $36 for adults. The North Shore Center boasts free, plentiful parking.

For tickets and information, go to chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call the North Shore Center box office, 847.673.6300. For discounted school, scout and group rates, contact GroupTix at (773) 327-3778 or visit GroupTix.net.

Also on tap for Chicago Children's Theatre's 2011-2012 Season

Before Chicago Children's Theatre unchains The Houdini Box, the company's 2011-12 season kicks off with a musical version of everyone's favorite bedtime story, Goodnight Moon The Musical, Oct. 27-
Dec. 24 on the mainstage of the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. Tickets are on sale now at chicagochildrenstheatre.org or by calling the Victory Gardens box office, 773.871.3000.

Following The Houdini Box, the internationally acclaimed Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia returns to Chicago courtesy of Chicago Children's Theatre for the local premiere Brown Bear, A Moon and A Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carl, May 2-June 2, also at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.

Families that enjoy theater and like to save money, take note: The best way to secure priority seating at and save up to 20% on seats to Chicago Children's Theatre's 2011-2012 season productions is to purchase a CCT Flex Pass, on sale now at chicagochildrenstheatre.org or by calling 773.227.0180.

For discounted school, scout and group rates, contact GroupTix at (773) 327-3778 or visit GroupTix.net.

About Chicago Children's Theatre

Chicago Children's Theatre focuses on the production of first-rate children's theatre in Chicago, with top writing, performing and directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise. Chicago Children's Theatre aspires to enrich our community through diverse and significant theatrical and educational programming that engages and inspires the child in all of us.

Led by Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell, and Board Chair Todd Leland, the company is supported by a dynamic Board of Directors comprised of dedicated individuals from the fields of entertainment, philanthropy and business, and a committed Artistic Council of Chicago-based actors, directors, musicians and designers.

Launched in 2005, Chicago Children's Theatre strives to provide affordable and accessible theatre for families and area school children. To enhance the impact of any given production's themes, Chicago Children's Theatre offers educational materials and programs for families and educators.

Chicago Children's Theatre's 2011-2012 season is made possible in part by the generosity of its sponsors: ComEd is the Official Lighting Sponsor. Goldman Sachs Gives is the Official Season Sponsor. JPMorgan Chase is the Official Education Sponsor. Target is the Official School Field Trip Sponsor. United is the Chicago Premiere Sponsor as well as the Official and Exclusive Airline Sponsor.

For more information about Chicago Children's Theatre visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org or call 773.227.0180.