Fairytale creatures will come to life on Paramount stage in St. Cloud

Shelby Lindrud, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·2 min read

Feb. 14—ST. CLOUD — For children and adults alike who have ever dreamed of meeting a dragon, unicorn or other magical creatures face to face, the

Paramount Center for the Arts

in St. Cloud might just have the ticket.

The theater is excited to host

"Dragons and Mythical Beasts"

direct from the West End in London where several mythical beasts will come alive, thanks to highly skilled puppeteers.

"It is going to be just a beautiful show with these puppets that are huge and beautiful," said Gretchen Boulka, director of performing arts at the Paramount Center. "A lot of fun for kids to let their imaginations run wild."

The show will be in St. Cloud for a single day engagement, at 3 p.m. Feb. 18. Tickets are $24 for adults and $10 for children 17 and under. All audience members, including infants, are required to have a ticket, which can be purchased online on the Paramount Center's website. The show is recommended for ages five and up.

"Some little kids might find the dragons a little bit scary," Boulka.

The fairytale show is touring across the United Kingdom and the United States this year. It won the 2022 Entertainment Now Edinburgh Fringe Festival Award Winner for Best Show for Kids and was nominated for a 2022 Olivier Award, the highest award for live theater in the United Kingdom. Boulka said the Paramount thought the show would be a very unique production to bring to St. Cloud and were happy when all the schedules worked out.

"It is pretty prestigious," Boulka said.

The show follows Dave the Hero Trainer as he interacts with each creature. There are puppets representing well-known creatures such as dragons and unicorns. The show will also introduce the audience to creatures from folklore around the world such as the Baku from Japan and the Russian Indrik.

"Some of them are nice and wonderful, others are a little bit naughty," Boulka said.

While the Paramount has welcomed shows with puppets in the past, "Dragons" is something special. Some of the puppets are nearing 12 feet tall and are controlled by puppeteers on stage.

"This is kind of a unique experience," Boulka said.

Following the show, children in the audience will be given the opportunity to go on stage and get up close with the puppets.

"For some kids it either feeds into their imagination," being able to meet a dragon, Boulka said. "For other kids it might make it less scary," to know they are just puppets.

Tickets are still available for the show. The Paramount is using special funds to help keep the cost low for the children's tickets, with the hope it opens live theater up to the younger generation.

"We are hoping to get lots of people," Boulka said. "Perhaps kids that have never been to the theater before. A nice introduction that is not too long and a lot of fun."