- By Hangar Theatre
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“This year’s Kiddstuff season includes a wonderful variety of plays,” explains the Hangar’s Artistic Director, Kevin Moriarty. “The productions range from charming fables and original plays for young audiences to adaptations of classic works of children’s literature, including plays of joyful innocence, wacky comedy, and beautiful, deep insights.” Kiddstuff series producer Wendy Dann is excited by the opportunity to engage young audiences in discussions about experiences that speak directly to their lives: “Theatre can be a vehicle for young audiences to explore important themes, like the balance of work and play in Ant and the Grasshopper, how to become a good friend in Androcles and the Lion, or the challenge of accepting difference in Cucumber Phil.” Throughout the summer, the six productions will be presented on select Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays with performances at 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon at the Hangar Theatre in Cass Park.
The season begins on June 13th with The Ant and the Grasshopper by Rob Dearborn, a show that puts a new spin on Aesop’s classic fable about an industrious ant and his more laid back grasshopper neighbor. In addition to the public performances, Moriarty is looking forward to presenting the play to school groups in six special school-time performances. “More than 2,000 students from schools throughout the region will have the opportunity to come to the Hangar to see a professional theatre production,” he explains. “For many of these young people, this will be their first exposure to a live production, as well as being a highlight of their school year.”
On June 23rd, again on July 14th, and from August 30th to September 1st, The Arkansaw Bear by Aurand Harris takes the stage with the story of Tish, a little girl who learns to cope with her grandfather’s pending death by wishing on a star and visiting the world of fantasy. There, she meets the World's Greatest Dancing Bear who helps her come to terms with a universal truth. “This play is a classic of children’s theater literature,” explains Moriarty. “It is remarkable in its ability to deal with a sensitive topic with such immense warmth, humor, pathos and depth. I’m very proud to share this nationally loved play with the youth of our community.”
From June 28th to the 30th and again from July 5th to the 7th, A.A. Milne’s loveable Winnie-the-Pooh toddles onto the stage. Featuring the titular little bear of Very Little Brain, the production is a showcase for Milne's wit and special understanding of young people.
From July 19th to the 21st and again from July 26th to the 28th, Cucumber Phil moseys into the Hangar. Ed Monk’s wacky comedy for children tells the tale of the finest cucumber farmer in all of Cucumber Valley and how he deals with the arrival of new people and new ideas into his happy, stable community.
From August 8th to the 11th, Kiddstuff welcomes Androcles and the Lion, an original comedy for kids originally commissioned by the Hangar as a School Tour production from playwright Kathryn Walat, whose Bleeding Kansas will be appearing concurrently on the Hangar’s Mainstage. “For four days this summer, Hangar audiences will be able to see two of Kate’s wonderful plays in the same day,” explains Moriarty. “From her funny, insightful play for young audiences in the morning, to the world premiere of her most recent play for adult audiences in the evening, the breadth and depth of her voice as a writer will dazzle our audiences of all ages.” In this story, based on two of Aesop's fables, the lion and the mouse strike up an unexpected alliance and tell a timeless, classic tale in an accessible and funny manner while exploring issues of friendship, bullying, kindness and generosity.
Students from the Hangar’s Next Generation Theatre School program are the stars from August 23rd to the 25th in an all-new production of Alice in Wonderland. Based on the Lewis Carroll classic, Alice follows the fun, and sometimes strange, adventures of a little girl who has gone through the looking glass and into a fantastical world.
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