The 2010-2011 seasons of two major theatres face off …
In this corner, Seattle Children’s Theatre, which will celebrate its 36th season in 2010-2011. The company has presented more than 200 plays to over 4 million children since its founding.
Sarah S. Mixson and Connor Toms in Seattle Children’s Theatre’s "The Green Sheep." Photo by Chris Bennion, courtesy of SCT.
In the opposite corner, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Oregon’s largest nonprofit professional children’s theater company. Founded in 1989, OCT serves more than 111,000 children of all ages each year.
First, the trash talk from the Artistic Directors.
“I’m really proud of the season we have put together. It promises to be an exceptional year featuring international work from Scotland and Holland, our first-ever ecologically-themed production and the opportunity to again work with some of our favorite playwrights in Steven Dietz and Kevin Kling. Every age, children and adults, will find something to see, experience and enjoy,” says Seattle Children’s Theatre’s Linda Hartzell.
“This is going to be our most exciting season ever!” counters Oregon Children’s Theatre’s Stan Foote. “It’s got something for everyone and will really spark the imagination and creativity of children of all ages.”
Now, the 2010-2011 seasons go head to head.
Seattle Children’s Theatre’s 2010-2011 season kicks off in August with The Green Sheep, a play featuring music, puppets and surprises for the youngest audience members. Next up is The Borrowers, based on Mary Norton’s 1952 classic. In late October, Morgan’s Journey will let kids follow a clown on a journey of self-discovery. Lyle the Crocodile takes SCT into the New Year, when P.D. Eastman’s classic children’s book comes alive in Go, Dog. Go! In February, HELP details the early career of The Beatles, before the advent of Ringo. In time for spring, Puppet State Theatre Company of Scotland’s The Man Who Planted Trees will tell the tale of a French shepherd who sets out with his dog to plant a forest. In the season-ending Jackie and Me, young Joey Stoshack’s given an assignment to write a paper on Jackie Robinson, so he heads back to 1947 to meet the famous baseball player.
Leif Norby as Long John Silver and Ryan Stathos as Jim Hawkins in Oregon Children’s Theatre’s 2007-2008 production, "The Ghosts of Treasure Island." Photo by Owen Carey, courtesy of OCT.
Oregon Children’s Theatre will feature five plays for children and families, starting in October with the 1970s cult classic Alice & Wonderland, a rock opera. In January, OCT will present a world premiere musical, Diary of a Worm, a Spider, and a Fly, based on the New York Times best selling books by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss. Next up is the West Coast premiere of On the Eve of Friday Morning, the story of an Iranian girl who learns to cope with the struggles of her modern life through the ancient art of storytelling. Late April brings How I Became a Pirate, with hints that dance in the form of “peg-tapping” may be in store. The season will conclude with a new adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
Which delights will fit your playbill? Peg-tapping pirates or a tap-dancing crocodile? Rock opera or Beatles hits? A Wrinkle in Time or a time traveling baseball fan?
Katherine Luck
