|
“The
Christmas Bus” is Coming to Town:
Children’s Theatre Celebrates the Season with Musical by
Charlotte
’s Own Bob Inman
Children’s
Theatre of Charlotte is proud to celebrate this year’s holiday season with a
world premiere musical event. “The Christmas Bus”, by celebrated playwright
and Charlottean Bob Inman, makes its debut as a musical on the stage of the
McColl Family Theatre from December 1-17.
It’s
Christmas Eve, and Mrs. Frump, the bumbling but devoted director of the Peaceful
Valley Orphanage wants her kids to experience an extra-special Christmas with a
real family. She’s determined that nothing will stand in her way, not even the
law-abiding Sheriff Snodgrass and the meddling town busybodies or an old school
bus that has seen better days. As Mrs. Frump and the orphans pick up a
hitchhiking troubadour with a few holiday dreams of his own, their quest turns
into a rollicking adventure.
Children’s
Theatre’s production of “The Christmas Bus” coincides with the book’s
publication by Novello Press, the award-winning publishing project of the Public
Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. “From Cover to Cover: The Story
of a Story Coming to Life”, an original exhibit exploring the book and play,
will be on display at ImaginOn during the run of the production. The exhibit
documents different stages of the creative process, including revision, design,
and music composition, and includes interactive elements that will encourage
children to apply their own creativity.
Known
to many Charlotteans from his years as an anchor on WBTV, Bob Inman has gone on
to become a critically acclaimed author and playwright. In addition to author
appearances in
Charlotte
and throughout the Southeast, he will be participating in special programming
with Children’s Theatre and ImaginOn. Events include a free talk about his
work on November 30 and an audience talkback following the opening night
performance on December 1.
“The
collaborative process of taking the story of ‘The Christmas Bus’ from page
to stage with Bob Inman so intimately involved as the author and playwright is a
new frontier for Children’s Theatre,” said
Jen Band
, who co-directs the production along with Artistic Director Alan Poindexter.
“It’s been an exciting experience, and we hope the success of this
partnership will foster many more such collaborations in the future.”
Performance
times and dates are:
Friday,
December 1
7:30 pm
Saturday,
December 2
3:00 pm
Sunday.
December 3
2:00 pm
Friday,
December 8
7:30 pm
Saturday,
December 9
1:00 pm
Sunday,
December 10
2:00 pm
Friday,
December 15
7:30 pm
Saturday,
December 16
3:00 pm
Sunday,
December 17
2:00 pm
Performances
will be held in the McColl Family Theatre at ImaginOn,
300 East 7th Street
. Front Orchestra tickets are $18.00; General Admission tickets are
$14.00. For tickets to the productions, call the Children’s Theatre Box Office
at 704-973-2828 (10 am-5 pm, Mon.-Fri.) or visit our website: www.ctcharlotte.org.
Recommended for ages 5 and up.
“The
Christmas Bus” was originally produced as a play with music at the Blowing
Rock Stage Company, with Kenneth Kay as Producing Artistic Director.
Children’s
Theatre of Charlotte is supported by the Annual Fund Drive of the Arts and
Science Council, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc., ArtsTeach, and the North Carolina
Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National
Endowment for the Arts.
The media sponsor for the 2006-07 season is WCNC-TV.
US
Airways: the 2006-07 Official Airline of Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
| 