Calgary theatre offerings for families see sellouts this holiday
Posted Dec 31, 2024 9:36 am.
Two incredible theatre shows geared for young audiences saw near complete sellouts this holiday season, proving that planning is paramount for live performances in Calgary.
Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) staged E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web at the end of 2024, its only family audience-geared show of the season — a throwback to a past tradition of the 50-year-old theatre company.
The script adaptation by Joseph Robinette has been credited with being ‘truest to the book,’ and Rebecca Northern’s direction certainly maintains this.
Ralamy Kneeshaw’s costumes were breathtaking to witness, and Charlotte’s movement, played by Julie Orton, was magnetic as she sprung from structure to structure.
The engaging puppetry also kept the attention of toddlers and seniors alike which, as a parent, is an oft-challenging thing to do.
Suggestions and commentary were welcome from the crowd as the actors onstage invited them from the younger set of the crowd.
For example, an actor asked, “What word should Charlotte, the spider, inscribe next on her web in an attempt to save Wilbur, the pig?” (Luckily, someone suggested “humble,” which kept the script on track.)
Three-year-old theatre reviewer Charlotte Montgomery exclaimed at the puppets, “That chicken is funny.”
ATP artistic director Haysam Kadri said much of the credit for keeping the audience’s attention goes to Northam, saying she truly understands how to activate and care for audiences. But flashing lights and exciting costumes never hurt, either.
Storybook Theatre, meanwhile, continues its run of Beauty and the Beast, but if you didn’t buy a ticket in November, you are out of luck. The run has already been extended once and must close on Jan. 5. It sold out completely three weeks before opening.
Artistic director of Storybook Theatre JP Thibodeau said the show had a waitlist of over 1,000 names, which was no surprise to the company, as it is such a well-known title.
Thibodeau said he hopes the momentum of Beauty and the Beast continues through the latter half of Storybook’s season, which includes lesser-known titles.
