The Children's Theatre Of Cincinnati Announces 2018-2019 Season

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's 94th MainStage season will take audiences "up, up and away" with a SUPER season opener for Tri-State students and families at the Taft Theatre.

"We are 94 years young - and we still haven't grown up!" said Producing Artistic Director, Roderick Justice. "Our lineup will have something for everyone, while enhancing our mission (To educate, entertain and engage audiences of all ages through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming). After two years in the making, we are thrilled to kick off our season with an exciting collaboration."

The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's creative team, theatrical licensing agent Tams-Witmark, and DC Comics have joined forces to adapt and premiere a TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) version of the 1966 musical It's A Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (Superman).

President of Tams-Witmark, Sargent Aborn, states, "The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati had this wonderful idea to create a TYA version of "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman," Tams-Witmark and the authors of the show are excited to see the results." Along with Superman, the season 94 brings to life a regional-premiere holiday musical (Santa Claus: The Musical); a new creative vision in store for Mowgli and his friends (Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS); and another world-premiere musical with Ken Jones (Sleeping Beauty)." The Man of Steel, The Man in Red, a "Man-Cub" and a sleepy (but spunky) princess will inspire and entertain audiences both young and old.

TCT MainStage at the Taft season:

SUPERMAN (October 6-15, 2018)
Santa Claus: THE MUSICAL (December 8-17, 2018)
DISNEY'S THE JUNGLE BOOK KIDS (February 16-25, 2019)
SLEEPING BEAUTY (April 27-May 6, 2019)

New subscriptions to the 2018-2019 Children's Theatre of Cincinnati MainStage season at the Taft Theatre will be available in early June after existing subscription renewals are completed. Subscriptions range from $23 to $103 for all four productions. Single tickets go on sale August 31. For information call 513-569-8080 ext. 10 or visit www.thechildrenstheatre.com. Important to note: The Children's Theatre's four Broadway-style MainStage productions will continue to be performed in the historic Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati. The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati is supported by the thousands of people who give generously to the ArtsWave Community Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

About the MainStage at the Taft Season:

Edward Watts, New York City Center Encores! production of It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman. © Joan Marcus. Used with permission. SUPERMAN October 6-15, 2018

Composed by Charles Strouse, with lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Based on the comic book character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. SUPERMAN is the tale of Superman's efforts to defeat a vengeful scientist, the new villain Dr. Abner Sedgwick, who seeks to destroy the world's symbol of good.

In this premiere adaptation of the 1966 musical, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, this TYA-friendly musical will be sure to soar up, up and away into the hearts of all children and the young at heart.

Santa Claus: THE MUSICAL December 8-17, 2018
Book by Noah Putterman. Music & Lyrics by David Christensen & Luke Holloway.

After 1,000 years of faithful service, Santa Claus has decided to retire. But not all the elves in Santa's Workshop are too thrilled about his chosen replacement.
With the help of his tech-savvy daughter, Beatrice, website designer Nick is in for the adventure of his life as he prepares to take over the reins to Santa's sleigh...before the next Christmas! Jam-packed with a sleigh-full of fun, energetic, and original Christmas music, Santa Claus: The Musical will be sure to put you and your entire family in the holiday spirit!

Will Graber as Mowgli, from TCT's 2011 production of Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS. Photo by Phil Groshong. DISNEY'S THE JUNGLE BOOK KIDS February 16-25, 2019

Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Terry Gilkyson. Book Adapted and Additional Lyrics by Marcy Heisler. Music Adapted and Arranged by Bryan Louiselle. Based on the Screenplay by Larry Clemmons. Based on the Novel, "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling.

The jungle is jumpin' with a jazzy beat in Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS. Specially adapted from the classic Disney animated film, this musical features a host of colorful characters and your favorite songs from the animated movie. Based on the works of Rudyard Kipling, the "Man-Cub" Mowgli, bounds through the jungle and learns what it means to be human.

SLEEPING BEAUTY April 27-May 6, 2019 Story and book by Ken Jones, music by Jamey Strawn and lyrics by Christine Jones.

A world-premiere commission by TCT! A clever take on the classic fairy tale, this new rock musical comedy is packed with humor, heart and a powerful message.

Briar Rose, the impulsive but courageous daughter of the King Charles and Queen Genevieve, defies the age-old tradition of attending 'Princess School', and sets out on her own to discover all the Kingdom has to offer. But along the way, she encounters an evil witch who places a curse on Princess Briar Rose, which causes her to fall into a deep sleep that can be ended only with a kiss from a prince. The evil witch tries to stop the sweet but befuddled Prince Edward from rescuing his sleeping beauty, but the witch fails and the prince succeeds. Then, fully awake and ready to rock, the feisty Briar Rose begins a whirlwind quest to defeat the witch and to restore order to the Kingdom. The creators of Sleeping Beauty previously wrote TCT's 2016 production of Snow White and the Dancing Dwarfs, and TCT's 2013 holiday production of The Day Before Christmas as well as other successful shows including: Burgertown, CHURCH GIRLS Umatilla USA, and A. LINCOLN: A Pioneer Tale.