Dan Norman News

The new triple threat may just be actor - singer- playwright. Bradley Greenwald is well known for acting and singing on stage, and now may be just as well known for his writing abilities.

Theatre Coup d'Etat presents Fight Night, running at Bryant Lake Bowl every third Friday of the month at 10:00pm, beginning tonight, April 15th, 2016.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) ends its 50th Anniversary Season with the much anticipated world premiere of the musical based on the blockbuster, best-selling DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Theatre Coup d'Etat presents Fight Night, running at Bryant Lake Bowl every third Friday of the month at 10:00pm, beginning April 15th, 2016.

Children's Theatre Company is proud to announce its 2016-2017 season which includes four musicals, two CTC audience favorites, and two world premiere productions including the development of a new Dr. Seuss musical based on the story of the Sneetches and an epic new play by Naomi Iizuka.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) presents the world premiere stage adaptation of THE SNOWY DAY AND OTHER STORIES by Ezra Jack Keats, directed by Peter C. Brosius and Fabrizio Montecchi. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable production and one that I would highly recommend.

'People are complex,' muses Aimee K. Grant, who plays Akeelah's mom, Gail, in AKEELAH AND THE BEE, the new musical at Arena Stage when I sat down with her and her on-stage daughter, 17-year old Johannah Easley (Akeelah) to talk about their experiences with the show. Increasing understanding within and among people is the power of theater, we agree, and Akeelah definitely offers up a story of complex people, young and old. Based on the wildly popular 2006 film of the same name, it's the story of a determined young girl from a difficult situation, competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Akeelah's life is filled with challenges, as are many people's, and that's where this story resonates. Although a tale of triumph over adversity may not seem a new one, each person's story is different, and Akeelah's has layers that will be relatable to many in the audience.

Confession: I've never read THE JUNGLE BOOK (the collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling in 1894) or seen the 1967 Disney movie (that I can remember). So I was on the fence about seeing Children's Theatre Company's new adaptation, until I saw the cast list. They're about a month into their two and a half month run, and I'm so glad I decided to see the show. This coming of age story that just happens to take place in a jungle is a wonderful tale of friendship, family, community, interdependence with nature, and finally having the courage to strike out on your own. With a sparse adaptation featuring just five actors playing all of the characters (most of them animals), whimsical musical accompaniment and sound effects, and a set that's like the best playground imaginable, THE JUNGLE BOOK is sheer delight from start to finish.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to present the extraordinary classic musical, THE WIZARD OF OZ, now through January 10, 2016 on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. Extended by one week due to popular demand, audiences can expect all the splendor, magic, and excitement of the classic story beautifully captured in this production starring CTC Acting Company member Traci Allen Shannon as Dorothy. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world, named after the Hindu Goddess of nourishment. In the new play by Sharr White, Ulysses writes an epic poem about his ex-wife Emma in which he uses climbing Annapurna as an analogy for their long, complicated, fractured relationship. The revelation of the poem comes at the end of 90 minutes of taut, natural, funny, heart-breaking, real, beautiful dialogue between these two layered and well-defined characters. And you couldn't ask for two better actors than Angela Timberman and Terry Hempleman to play Emma and Ulysses. Everything about the Jungle's production of ANNAPURNA, from the set to the acting to the music to the direction to the costumes (or lack thereof), is gorgeous in a starkly realistic yet poetic kind of way.

Helly my Broadway World Minneapolis friends. I know it's been a while since I've shared anything with you, but that's because I've been all-consumed by the 174-show 11-day festival that is the Minnesota Fringe. If you have not yet sampled from this glorious smorgasbord, don't worry, the fest continues through August 9 with 4-7 shows offered each day at 15 venues in Minneapolis, plus 9 site-specific shows. Believe me, I understand that this can be overwhelming, but I'm here to help. Read on to see a list of my 10 favorite shows of the Fringe so far. Now get out there, open your eyes and your heart and your mind, and see some of the beautiful, challenging, hilarious, disturbing, silly, profound, amazing theater that this festival has to offer.

Children's Theatre Company's latest offering 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA isn't what we usually think of as theater. But it is the best game of make-believe ever, and what is theater if not an elaborate game of make-believe? CTC is an expert at playing to their target audience while still creating art that we grown-ups can enjoy as well. And kids are quite familiar with playing make-believe, acting out their favorite stories, TV shows, books, or movies. That's pretty much what this show is - fan fiction (created by the wonderfully inventive team of Ryan Underbakke and Nick Ryan) about Jules Verne's novel with a fantastic team of actors playing the characters and leading the audience, who are also playing characters, through the story. It's an exercise in the collective power of imagination, something that comes naturally to kids, but that's necessary for adults to take part in occasionally as well. 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA is a super cool and totally unique experience.

Cardinal Theatricals presents the Off Broadway premiere of Mrs. Smith's Broadway Cat-tacular!, an all-singing, all-dancing 'demented cabaret on acid,' created and performed by New York based writer/actor and performance artist David Hanbury. Joining Mrs. Smith onstage will be her two 'Broadway Boys' Brandon Haagenson and Ken Lear. Directed by Andrew Rasmussen, performances began on July 10th at the 47th Street Theatre (304 West 47th Street - between 8th & 9thAvenue). Opening Night is set for tonight, July 20th at 7:30pm. Performances will continue through September 20th. Check out a first look below!

Created and Conceived by Ryan Underbakke and Nick Ryan and based on the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Children's Theatre Company presents 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, directed by Ryan Underbakke, running now through August 23, 2015. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

?Being a grown-up is hard. You have to be concerned about things like bills, a job, a house, traffic, the deterioration of the environment, and violence and injustice in our backyards and around the world. It's really a drag - no wonder Peter Pan doesn't want to be one! And while we boring and worried grown-ups don't have the option of returning to a blissful childhood, we can go to the Children's Theatre Company and forget about all of our grown-up worries, remembering and reveling in the joy and freedom of youth. What better choice for CTC, then, than the musical adaptation of J.M. Barrie's iconic tale about the boy who won't grow up? Kids love it because they see themselves in Peter, and we grown-ups see an even deeper meaning in the story as we watch the children around us grow up in an increasingly dangerous world, and long for our own days of innocence. It's a perfect choice perfectly executed by the entire cast and creative and technical teams. This PETER PAN is something quite magical, and quite simply the best thing I've seen at CTC.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is thrilled to present Peter Pan the Musical for the first time on our stage, now through June 21, 2015 on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. Ivey Award-winner Peter Rothstein directs with choreography by Joe Chvala (Flying Foot Forum). Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

Andy Pringle, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Shaw Festival, is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Jennings as the next Executive Director of the Shaw Festival. Jennings will succeed Elaine Calder, who is retiring in September of this year.

Children's Theatre Company (CTC) announced today that Tim Jennings, Managing Director of Children's Theatre Company, will be leaving at the end of September 2015 to take on the position of Executive Director at the internationally renowned Shaw Festival of Canada (Niagara on the Lake, Ontario).

Based on Mark Twain's classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Children's Theatre Company (CTC) will present Greg Banks' adaptation of Huck Finn, now through April 4, 2015. Banks, whose CTC credits include Pinocchio, Robin Hood, Antigone, Romeo and Juliet and more, will direct, with music composed by Victor Zupanc, set by Joseph Stanley, costumes by Mary Anna Culligan and lighting design by Paul Whitaker. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!