Media Contact:

Melissa Ferlaak

Senior Marketing & PR Manager

612-872-5110

Akeelah and the Bee to move to Arena Stage following its CTC world premiere

WHAT: Childrens Theatre Company is excited to announce a new development with one of the shows on our upcoming 50^th Anniversary Season. The full production of Akeelah and the Bee, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright (Motown the Musical) and written by Cheryl L. West which premieres at CTC (run dates: September 1 through October 11, 2015) will immediately move to Arena Stage in Washington DC to be their holiday show November 13 through December 27. Arena Stage is noted for being the first regional theatre to be racially integrated and is committed to commissioning and developing new works by American artists and is considered one of the top 5 regional theatres in North American. This is an unprecedented and big honor for a Minnesota theatre.

Akeelah and the Bee is being produced by CTC through its Threshold program which envisions the future of theatre for young audiences by creating new plays, drawn from a wide range of source materials that will expand and explode the repertoire and reflect our global community. Over 200 new works have been developed through Threshold, greatly increasing the canon of work for young audiences.

Arena Stages announcement with season details is located at: http://www.arenastage.org/shows-tickets/the-season/index-15-16.shtml

Akeelah and the Bee World Premiere

Adapted for the Stage by Cheryl L. West

Based on the Original Screenplay by Doug Atchison

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright

September 1 October 11, 2015

UnitedHealth Group Stage

Akeelah has a crazy passion for words: the more abstruse and labyrinthine, the better. But this gift is almost overwhelmed by the challenge of her daily life in a tough, dangerous Chicago neighborhood, and by Akeelahs yearning for a different life. The first theatrical adaptation of the critically-acclaimed film is directed by Charles Randolph-Wright and captures all the hope and spirit of the original story in an inspiring tale of a community united behind one little girls dream. Akeelah and the Bee will also be featured in La Jolla Playhouses DNA New Work Series and will travel to a major regional theatre following its run at CTC.

I am thrilled to be directing Akeelah and the Bee for CTCs 50th Anniversary Season - it is a compelling, lively, and important story that resonates right now. I love this play, I love this theatre, and I am excited for Minneapolis to take Akeelahs journey. Charles Randolph-Wright

Melissa Ferlaak

Senior Marketing & PR Manager

Children's Theatre Company

2400 3rd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55404

Office - 612.872.5110