Children's Theatre Of Charlotte Celebrates 75 Years Of Wonder

Children's Theatre of Charlotte began in 1948 as a volunteer-run children's program and has since grown into one of the top theatre and education organizations for young people in the United States. The professional theatre company which began producing out of a former Veterans of Foreign Wars office in the 1970s now performs in two state-of-the-art spaces at ImaginOn, a unique partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

For its anniversary, the Theatre is celebrating 75 years of wonder by bringing back some audience favorites and producing four musicals while introducing three news works to the programming lineup.

"These past two years of pandemic closures have created feelings of loneliness and isolation, especially in children," said artistic director Adam Burke. "Children's Theatre of Charlotte has always been a place where kids share inspiration and wonder with other kids. Not only do these shared experiences fight the feelings of loneliness and isolation; the emotions that are unveiled through the active use of imagination and wonder begin to develop empathy. We are excited to announce our 75th anniversary season and look forward to 75 more years of imagination and wonder."

For the first time ever, "Annie," the Tony Award-winning musical that lifts hearts and inspires change, will be performed at Children's Theatre of Charlotte. The timeless hit kicks off the season featuring adult and child actors in the full-length production.

During the fall, the Theatre brings back the ever popular, "A Sick Day for Amos McGee" in August and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical" in November. "A Sick Day for Amos McGee", from the book by Philip C. Stead, was adapted for the stage by Nicole B. Adkins as part of The Kindness Project (TKP). This initiative brings original plays centered around kindness to young audiences. To date, the Theatre has developed four plays under TKP and welcomed over 20,000 guests in the audience. The show will hit the road as a part of the Theatre's Resident Touring Company.

Audiences will get the chance to revel in three new works as well. Award-winning author Trudy Ludwig is teaming up with the Theatre again to have her book "Confessions of a Former Bully" adapted for the stage. Power duo and longtime collaborative friends of the Theatre, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner, are creating "Allie Kazan and the Magic Mansion", a fun and spooky, mystery musical that will have audiences questioning what's real and what's magic. And the Theatre takes us back to 1947 in

"The Night Diary," a poignant play about the Partition, based on the Newbery Honor-winning story by Veera Hiranandani.

To round out the season, the Theatre will perform the musical "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" in April and presents two works: "Jackie Robinson: A Game Apart" and "Sunjata Kamalenya: The Story of the True Lion King of Africa."

For more information regarding Children's Theatre of Charlotte's 75th season and upcoming celebratory events, please visit: http://www.ctcharlotte.org.

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