CTC to Premiere Pirate Musical BUCCANEERS, 9/11-10/21

CTC is the industry leader in commissioning and producing plays by women specifically for young audiences, adding several strong young women to the canon of female protagonists. The opening play of the 2012-2013 Season brings a new feisty young lady to the stage to face seemingly insurmountable challenges. CTC will premiere the musical Buccaneers, written by Liz Duffy Adams with music by Ellen Maddow September 11 through October 21.

Buccaneers is a musical adventure that follows in the footsteps of the strong-and-smart Enid Arabella as her bravery is put to the test as well as her devotion to family and friends. Megan Fischer, whose portrayal as the title role in the CTC production of Annie garnered high praise, will play the role of Enid Arabella. Enid is captured by the dreaded Johnny Johné, played by Twin Cities favorite, the Ivey Award-winning Bradley Greenwald. The swashbuckling is accompanied by the choreography of Joe Chvala (Flying Foot Forum) and original music by Obie Award winner Ellen Maddow.

Peter Brosius’s vision has made CTC the frontrunner in creating new work for young audiences, broadening the canon of plays for ages two through eighteen. CTC regularly commissions playwrights of national stature to write plays for children. A grant from the Jerome Foundation has allowed CTC to commission Liz Duffy Adams to create Buccaneers. Liz Duffy Adams, whose work has been produced at top regional theatres across the country, is an alum of the New Dramatists residency program, through which CTC has a unique partnership for fostering new work. She has been touted for her poetic dialogue and her ability to create raucous fiction that reminds audiences why they love theatre.

In finding playwrights to create these world premieres, Director of New Play Development Elissa Adams says, “We look for artists whose work we have loved and whose voice we want to share with our audience. Liz has a way with language that is witty, smart, and funny, and she has created a terrific heroine with Enid.” Creating world premiere productions gives a theatre the exclusive opportunity to bring an entire creative team together with the script’s originating artists. Liz Duffy Adams brought along accomplished composer Ellen Maddow to create the original musical Buccaneers.

Artistic Director Peter Brosius has always been intrigued by the music of Ellen Maddow. Brosius explains, “Her music is not typical musical theatre. It is quirky, surprising, and fun, and deeply influenced by traditional music of Ireland and Africa, and Spain.” The music will be played by leading Twin Cities musicians, Dick Hensold, Joe Cruz, and Victor Zupanc, and augmented by the talented young cast, which accurately represents the many nations from which the dreaded pirate king dragooned his youthful crew.

Rounding out the cast are CTC Company members Autumn Ness and Reed Sigmund playing Enid Arabella’s bickering parents. CTC is one of the few professional regional theatres with a resident Acting Company, and Ness and Sigmund, married in real-life, have been with CTC for thirteen years.

While Buccaneers is an enjoyable new musical, Brosius asserts that the play grapples with real, current issues. “A great deal is at stake for Enid. Kids love to see that they can face extraordinary odds. We also see kids wrestling with the ideas of democracy, humanity, and how to form a government,” Brosius says. “The play is full of terrific surprises.”

Buccaneers opens Fri., September 14 (previews begin Tues., September 11) and runs through Sun., October 21. Tickets range from $10-$56.00 for adults and $10-$46.00 for children, and are available by calling (612) 874-0400 or by visiting www.childrenstheatre.org.

Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the first theatre for young people to win the coveted Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theater (2003). Founded in 1965, CTC serves more than 300,000 people annually and is one of the 20 largest theater companies in the nation. CTC is noted for defining worldwide standards for youth theatre with an innovative mix of classic tales, celebrated international productions and challenging new work.