CCT announces 60th season lineup featuring four musicals
CCT (Columbus Children’s Theatre) will focus primarily on musicals next season.
“We are reinvigorated and ready for growth as we enter our 60th anniversary season,” said Zac DelMonte, who became the company’s artistic director in February.
“We’ve taken time over the pandemic to rally the troops... We want to continue and enhance our high production values and offer more professional-quality productions,” DelMonte said.
All mainstage productions will be musicals with live musicians, adult actors in adult roles and young actors in age-appropriate children’s roles, DelMonte said.
In addition to its main season, CCT will continue to offer other shows (to be announced) for younger audiences throughout the year, often tied to the company’s Advanced Performance Academy, one-week summer camps or Theater for the Very Young series.
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“These may not be full-scale productions and might be student creations,” DelMonte said.
Except where noted, all main-season performances will take place at the Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St.
• “Newsies”(Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St.): The Disney musical, a Tony winner for best choreography and score, is based on the 1992 movie musical and true story of the 1899 newsboys strike in New York.
• “The Happy Elf” (Dec. 9-23): The jazzy musical comedy, adapted by composer-lyricist Harry Connick, Jr. and author Andrew Fishman from the 2005 animated film inspired by Connick’s song, offers a holiday tale of friendship and overcoming adversity as a North Pole elf spreads Christmas cheer to the not-nice residents of Bluesville.
• “The SpongeBob Musical” (Feb. 10-19): The Broadway musical comedy based on the Nickelodeon animated series, with music from more than 25 different artists and bands (including Sara Bareilles, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper and John Legend), follows the cheery fry-cook and his fishy Bikini Bottom friends as they face a threat to their undersea world.
• “School of Rock” (May 12-21): The Broadway musical — adapted by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, author Julian Fellowes (“Downtown Abbey”) and lyricist Glenn Slater from the 2003 Jack Black comedy film — revolves around a struggling rock-singer/guitarist who impersonates a teacher and transforms a class of fourth-graders into an energetic kid-rock band.
Single tickets to “Newsies,” on sale now, cost $53 to $83; single tickets will vary for other musicals.For more information, call 614-224-6672 or visit www.columbuschildrenstheatre.org and www.cbusarts.com.
@mgrossberg1
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: CCT announces season with 4 musicals" including 'Newsies,' 'Happy Elf'
