The Way Off Broadway Children's Theatre first opened in 1996 and since then has become a popular entertainment destination for families looking for a fun weekend activity, it has also become a great spot for birthday parties and school trips. Each show that has appeared on the stage has been an original musical adaptation of a popular children's story or fairytale written specifically for Way Off Broadway. With the first show of the 2011 Season, things will be changing in The Children's Theatre. For the first time, a Disney production will come to life on the Way Off Broadway stage when Disney's 101 Dalmatians Kids opens on January 29th kicking off the new season.
The Children's Theatre begins 2011 with a big new production straight from the Disney vaults. In a loving home in the city of London, Dalmatian parents, Pongo and Perdita happily raise their Dalmatian puppies, until the monstrous Cruella De Vil plots to steal them for her new fur coat! Join all the spotted dogs, as they daringly rescue the puppies from Cruella and her bumbling henchmen. Way Off Broadway and Disney finally meet in this show that is fun for the entire family.
"Way Off Broadway has always been at the forefront of family entertainment in the area," says Susan Thornton, Director of Way Off Broadway's Children's Theatre. "And while this is the first Disney show to come to the theatre, it certainly won't be the last."
Disney's 101 Dalmatians will also mark another first for The Children's Theatre. For the first time children will be a part of the cast playing the roles of the Dalmatian puppies.
"Until now, all of the performers in Children's Theatre have been professional adult actors," Thornton points out. "We really wanted to do something different for 2011 so we held open auditions for children to play the puppies."
The most memorable character in 101 Dalmatians of course, is the domineering fashionista Cruella De Vil, who sets her sights on adding a Dalmatian fur coat to her wardrobe. Immortalized in the 1996 live action film by award-winning actress Glenn Close, local area performer and director Amy Chase Martin takes on the role for Way Off Broadway's production.
Joining Martin in the show are Bill Kiska and Jordan Stocksdale as Cruella's fumble henchmen, Sarah Melinda and Jeremy Trammelle as Anita and Roger, Pongo and Perdita's owners, with Jackie Kempa as Perdita and Ryan Patrick Kane as Pongo. The Dalmatian puppies are played by Kyra Baker, Amy Bittler, Kameron Brown, Sam Buchanan, Lily Discepolo, Jamie Goodson, Cristen Hall, Tatiana Harman, Lily Kigin, Erin Kopit, Cassidy Solomon, and Maddie Reefe.
Way Off Broadway's production of Disney's 101 Dalmatians Kids runs January 29 - March 19, 2011, and is directed by Susan Thornton with musical direction by Jordan Stocksdale.
Children's Theatre performances are every Saturday afternoon and the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, as well as select added weekday performances throughout the run.
To learn more about the show, or any of Way Off Broadway's productions, visit the theatre's website at www.wayoffbroadway.com or call the Box Office at 301 662-6600 to purchase tickets. Following Disney's 101 Dalmatians this spring will be Way Off Broadway's The Three Little Pigs.
The Children's Theatre is part of The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, a leader in the region's performing arts community since it first opened in 1995. Under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, WOB has produced such productions as A Funny Thing . . . Forum, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Oklahoma!, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Odd Couple, A Chorus Line, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Evita, and Cats, as well as the regional and area premieres of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl - The Musical, Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer, Mel Brooks' The Producers, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Located along Route 40 West, the Golden Mile in Frederick, the theatre, in addition to its Mainstage and Children's Theatre, produces a variety of special events throughout the year. Way Off Broadway's 2011 Mainstage Season features The Drowsy Chaperone, Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, Hairspray, Chicago, and Christmas Tidings.
