FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 22, 2015

CTC Alumna and Broadway Actress Laura Osnes to Perform at 50^th Anniversary Season Opener at Target Field; Free Ticket Lottery

Open Now Through July 31

MINNEAPOLIS Childrens Theatre Company (CTC) begins its 50^th Anniversary celebration on August 9, 2015 with a grand-scale, FREE family Season Opener at Target Field. Just announced, CTC alumna turned two-time Tony®-nominated Broadway actress, Laura Osnes, will perform at the event that will also include interactive games, performances by CTC cast for the upcoming season, Theatre Arts Training students, and a jumbotron screening of the never-before-seen filmed theatrical production of A Year with Frog and Toad, based on the Arnold Lobel stories with the original Broadway cast in high definition. The event will begin at 5:30pm and end at 8:30pm.

CTC Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius adds, The entire CTC family is thrilled to welcome Laura back to Minnesota for this incredible event. We wished to do a large-scale celebration to give sincere thanks to our home community for supporting us for the last fifty years. The 50th Anniversary Season and Season Opener are meant to give back to Minnesota, because without this community, we wouldnt be here today. We especially want to thank the Minnesota Twins for partnering with us and Target for making this event possible.

Laura Osnes began her CTC career in Madelines Rescue in 2006, tap-danced as a penguin in Mr. Poppers Penguins in 2007 and played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz her senior year of high school. She participated in Theatre Arts Training (TAT) Intensives performing in Cabaret and Working. She then went on to become a Performing Apprentice the following year. Ms. Osnes began her journey to Broadway stardom when she competed on NBCs Grease: Youre the One That I Want reality TV program and won the role of Sandy in the Broadway revival of Grease. From there, she went on to become a regular on Broadway stages starring in South Pacific, Anything Goes, and Bonnie and Clyde (nominated for a Tony Award® for Best Actress). Most recently, she was nominated for a Tony Award® for Best Actress for her role in Rodgers+Hammersteins Cinderella.

The filmed theatrical screening of the perennial audience favorite, A Year with Frog and Toad is based on the beloved Arnold Lobel Frog and Toad childrens stories. The production premiered at CTC in 2002 and played on Broadway in 2003 (nominated for Tony Awards® for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score, the same year CTC won the Regional Theatre Tony® Award). The production was filmed at CTC with the original Broadway cast in high definition and was produced by Bob Boyette.

Tickets to the event at Target Field are complimentary and will be guaranteed to all 2015-2016 6 Play Subscribers and current donors of $250 or more. A lottery system will be used to distribute all remaining tickets to the event. The lottery sign up period is now through July 31. All winners will be contacted by August 3. Transportation will be provided free by Metro Transit. To sign up for the lottery and for all complete details on the event, visit childrenstheatre.org/seasonopener.

This event is sponsored by Target and made possible through a partnership with the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club. Media partners include the Star Tribune, KS95, My Talk 107.1 and ESPN 1500AM. Corporate partnerships are available.

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Childrens Theatre Company (CTC) is the first theatre for young people to win the coveted Tony® Award for Outstanding Regional Theater (2003) and has welcomed more than 11 million people to performances and education programs over the last five decades. As one of the 25 largest theatre companies in the nation, CTC has created over 200 new works, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.

CTC educational programs reach tens of thousands of young people of all ages, ranging from early learners to young adults. CTCs Theatre Arts Training (TAT) program is designed to mold the next generation of theatre professionals in a guided, dynamic, studio-style program that is tailored to the needs of each individual student.

Steeped in our nationally-recognized Neighborhood Bridges philosophy, the CTC Community Engagement team creates models that arts organizations, schools and educators utilize to animate teaching and learning and develop critical thinking through creative writing, storytelling and theatre arts. Our three core programs include Neighborhood Bridges (currently serving grades 2-8), Building Bridges (serving Kindergartners) and Early Bridges (serving ages 3- 5). Our programming exists to promote accessibility and to deepen engagement with teachers and students locally and nation-wide.

Melissa Ferlaak

Senior Marketing & PR Manager

Children's Theatre Company

2400 3rd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55404

Office - 612.872.5110