Photo Flash: Children's Theatre Company Presents HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON

Bursting with inspiration and innovative stage magic, Harold and the Purple Crayon, a new theatrical production developed at Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) arrives at Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company (CTC), this month. 

Opening Jan. 20 (previews begin Jan. 17), Harold and the Purple Crayon is an imaginative and sophisticated interpretation of the beloved books by Crockett Johnson. Sketching himself into a wide variety of adventurous situations with his trusty purple crayon, Harold must quickly problem solve – drawing upon surprising visuals, mixed with creative, moving scenery and inventive puppetry – to accomplish all that his imagination can achieve. 

"This is a beautiful piece," says Peter Brosius, Artistic Director for CTC. "This production uses breathtaking animation, a gorgeous musical score and Johnson's beloved stories to celebrate the child in all of us."

Originally developed by Seattle Children's Theatre, the stage production of Harold and the Purple Crayon results from a collaboration between Don Darryl Rivera, Rob Burgess (lyrics) and Auston James (music). Rivera, who also plays the part of Harold and has garnered roles on nearly all of Seattle's major stages (including Taproot, The 5^th Avenue Theatre, Intiman, SCT and Seattle Shakespeare Festival), regularly appears at SCT in favorites like Lyle, the Crocodile, The Brementown Musicians and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Harold and the Purple Crayon marks the first time he has penned a theatrical production. 

Auston James is also a Seattle-based artist. He is a composer, singer and actor and has played many roles at SCT, including the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, Horton in Seussical and Snail, and more recently Frog, in A Year with Frog and Toad. Harold and the Purple Crayon is his theatrical composition debut as well. Rob Burgess, who has been contributing to Seattle's performing arts for more than 30 years, developed the lyrics for this creative production. Burgess' acting work has included Inherit the Wind and Elephant Man at Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Angels Fall at Our American Theater Company and Twilight Zone LIVE 2011 for Theater Schmeater. 

For more information, visit www.childrenstheatre.org, and check out photos from the production below!

Photo Credit: Dan Norman