Cinderella is back by popular demand this 2019-2020 season at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, and we saw it on opening weekend, which was November 3-5. It was our second time seeing Cinderella at Children’s Theatre Company, as we first saw it in 2016 when Reed Sigmund and Dean Holt played the stepsisters. That was the most hilarious show we had ever seen at Children’s Theatre Company, so we knew we had to see how they updated it for 2019!

This Cinderella isn’t what you may expect. It’s a wacky, humorous, and panto style musical that mixes together the well-known story of Cinderella, a Victorian Christmas party complete with holiday carols, and contemporary pop culture references, audience participation and unpredictable fun. Panto style means “it contains original music, traditional holiday carols, and current popular songs; jokes and references to pop culture; tons of audience interaction; and lots of slapstick comedy.”

Every time we see a production at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, we walk away smiling and wowed. Our experience seeing Matilda was no different. And with an all-star cast (featuring our favorites – Dean Holt, Reed Sigmund, and Autumn Ness), music, dancing and humor, and a solid story that pleases both kids and adults alike, we knew Matilda would be a hit. And it is.

Matilda is based on the 1988 book of the same name by Roald Dahl, which was turned into a 1996 movie (starring Mara Wilson and Danny DeVito) as well as a broadway musical. We have never read the book, but many who have love it and say the stage version follows the book very well. And I think what makes this story a winner is that it has it all – kids getting back at bad adults, magical powers (well, some), and a ton of energy.

Matilda Wormwood is a smart and imaginative 5-year-old girl. Her horrible, selfish parents hate her. Her mother is preoccupied with her dancing career. Her father is a dishonest businessperson who keeps calling Matilda a boy. Her TV-addicted brother is of no help to her (or anyone). So Matilda plays practical jokes on them, like replacing her father’s hair tonic with her mother’s hair dye.

Then Matilda attends school with a headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, who is a bullying, insulting, hateful beast of a woman. All the kids fear Miss Trunchbull, who disciplines like a tyrant, throwing locking kids in a cupboard with nails and broken glass. In one scene, she forces Bruce, a, overweight schoolboy, to eat an entire chocolate cake in front of his classmates because he stole one piece. In other scenes, she verbally tears the kids apart, calling them names and setting them up for failure just so she can discipline them some more.

With all of these horrible circumstances in her life, Matilda should be a wreck. But instead, she focuses on the one thing she can control – her mind. She devours books far above her level, which she lists to her astonished teacher, Miss Honey. They include:

Children’s Theatre Company’s World Premiere of The Hobbit is onstage now through April 14th. My family and I were looking forward to this one, as we love J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. I did read The Hobbit a number of years ago but have not yet read the Lord of the Rings books in full (though of course we’ve seen the movies).

It’s based on the well-known novel by J.R.R. Tolkien and was adapted for the stage and directed by Greg Banks, with music by Thomas Johnson. There are only five cast members (and two musicians):

• Joy Dolo (Gandalf, Bombur, Troll, Gollum, Elven King, Ensemble)
• H. Adam Harris (Kili, Troll, Smaug, Ensemble)
• Becca Hart (Balin, Troll, Bard, Ensemble)
• Acting Company member Dean Holt (Bilbo Baggins)
• Acting Company Member Reed Sigmund (Dwalin, Thorin, Spider, Ensemble)
• Plus two musicians: Victor Zupanc and Bill Olson as the onstage musicians.

The Hobbit at Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the familiar story so many love but in terms of spectacle, it is the polar opposite of the Peter Jackson-directed movie that came out in 2013. Instead of computer animation and actors galore, it was minimalist with only the five actors and two musicians, and a set that didn’t change at all, except in lighting.