Chicago Children's Theatre announces 2011-12 season

Three local debuts—including one world premiere—will round out next year’s Chicago Children’s Theatre season, the company just announced. The productions are all based on favorite children’s books that will be familiar to pre-schoolers, early and young readers.

The first is a musical version of quintessential bedtime story Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. It's slated to run October 27-December 24 at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park, and is recommended for ages 3 and up.

Next, CCT will produce The Houdini Box. It’s a world premiere musical based on the book by Brian Selznick about a 10-year-old boy who can’t seem to emulate his hero, Harry Houdini, until a chance meeting with the magician. Local puppeteer Blair Thomas, who worked with CCT on its acclaimed production of The Selfish Giant, will create puppetry and direct the show. Performances are scheduled for January 27-March 4, 2012 at Mercury Theater in Lakeview, followed by a remount March 14-March 25, 2012 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie. The show is recomennded for ages 5 and up. 

CCT will wrap up its sixth season with Brown Bear, A Moon and A Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle, performed by Mermaid Theatre of Novia Scotia. The production is based on Carle’s books Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It will run May 2-June 2 at the Mercury Theater, and is for audiences ages 3 and up. 

The company also announced it's offering a new "flex pass" for next season. This includes the option to buy tickets now and choose show dates later to see any performance during the first two weeks of the run. Early bird flex passes are on sale at a 30-percent discount on the website. Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org for details.