Tuesday, June 30, 2009



A Tale of Two Cities

October 30 - November 29, 2009

Friday nights at 7:30; Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3:00.

ASL/AD: Friday November 27 at 7:30 & Sunday November 29 at 3:00.

Set during the tumult of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities vividly dramatizes the influence of historical and political upheaval on the individual. It follows the intertwined fortunes of a French aristocrat who rejects his family’s tradition of terrorizing the lower classes; a physician whose long imprisonment has left him a symbolic hero for the oppressed; the physician’s daughter who unknowingly marries a descendant of her father’s tormentors; a drunken lawyer who finds meaning in life through an unrequited love; and a mob leader whose sheer rage at the degradation of the lower classes demands vengeance and is woven into her knitting. This new adaptation of the Dickens classic poses questions as pressing today as they were two centuries ago. How does one prioritize loyalty? Is violence ever justified? What are the costs to society of a citizenry divided between rich and poor? Can a single act of honor and love counteract a world filled with hatred? And, in the face of war and terror perpetrated in the name of a broader cause, what is the definition of a life well lived?


HONK!
January 29 - February 28, 2010
Friday nights at 7:00, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3:00.
School vacation week matinees, Tue 2/16 - Fri 2/19, at 1:00.
ASL/AD: Friday February 26 at 7:00 & Sunday February 28 at 3:00.
Mother duck Ida has been sitting—not so patiently—on her nestful of eggs, while her husband Drake “ducks” his share of parental responsibilities. When Billy, Beaky, Downy, and Fluff finally emerge, they are proper quacking ducklings. But when Egg #5—the big one—cracks open it reveals something altogether different. Ugly honks when the others quack, he’s bullied and teased because he doesn’t look like a duckling, his own father claims he’s created a monster. But Ida loves her child just as he is and tells him that it’s what’s inside that matters. Unfortunately, the roguish local cat agrees and lures Ugly over to his house “for lunch.” Ugly manages to slip off the menu, but he lands in trouble in the middle of nowhere. While the heartbroken Ida searches for him, Ugly sets off on a quest to find home. Along the way, he meets an eccentric assortment of creatures—from a ragtag squadron of geese to a philosophical bullfrog—who help him see the value of his own difference. In the end, Ugly finds home, himself, the ability to forgive even his worst enemies, and the confidence to make an important decision about his future. Brimful with wisecracking fun and a rollicking score, at its heart HONK! is a tender story of love and the meaning of being different. A rollicking comic musical; winner of the 2000 OLIVIER Award for Best Musical.

The Little Mermaid

April 16 - May 16, 2010
Friday nights at 7:00, Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3:00
School vacation week matinees; Tue 4/20 - Fri 4/23, at 1:00
ASL/AD: Friday May 14 at 7:00 & Sunday May 16 at 3:00
Danger threatens the dreamy peace of the Merpeople’s world within their reef, an unnatural restlessness disturbs their waters. The youngest daughter of the Sea King, our Little Mermaid, longs to know what lies above the ocean’s waves. Her curiosity pulls her to the surface, where she rescues a drowning human prince and falls in love with him. Her sisters are incredulous: how can she have gone all soft for a human? (They prefer their men with fins.) But her grandmother understands both the overwhelming compulsion to chart new waters and the perils that lie in going where you don’t belong. However, her gentle warnings are for naught. The Little Mermaid knows she must see the truth with her own eyes. Courageously, she accepts the evil Sea Witch’s dreadful bargain, leaving home to follow her heart into a land where the sun is warm and the atmosphere is light, where humans shed saltwater tears and love can speak louder than words. We discover—literally—that transformation is painful and to attain true love demands sacrifice. More faithful than Disney to Hans Christian Andersen’s original fairy tale (but with a happier ending), this adaptation tempers the bittersweet of loss, growth, and change with humor and the rippling rhythms of the tides.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

I Know a Place Where Dreams are Born...





BROADWAY on the RIVERWAY – oh what a night! The food was plentiful, the workshops engaging, the performances polished and filled with emotion. I want to thank all our patrons and their families for attending, participating, and being part of this grand extended family; the Wheelock Family Theatre.

Wheelock Family Theatre would also like to thank our colleagues from the Sodexo Corporation. Being a responsible corporate citizen is at the core of Sodexo's business, and this commitment sets the benchmark in areas such as sustainability, diversity, inclusion, wellness, and the fight against hunger. Support from Sodexo has nourished the WFT teacher previews, the Teen Take-overs, all of our opening night receptions, and our donor cultivation events; The Friendraisers. Indeed, WFT raises a toast to Sodexo as true friends! We extend our heartfelt thanks to Bob Cirame and Kelly Hamhoomis and Dan Eusebio.

A cheer is raised for support from Bank of America, a sponsor of the event, and a long time sponsor of the WFT School Partnerships! More cheers for the Brakeman Family, Sandberg & Gonzalez P.C., Charlie & Kitty Ames, Martha, Marjorie, & Maggie Bakken, George W. Blaisdell, Ellie Friedland, Suzanne Olbricht, and Jim Sokolove.

WFT extends a standing ovation to the WFT Advisory Board & our Event Committee: Meghana Baphna, Liora Beer, Amy Brakeman, Carola Cadley, Lauren Doherty, Julianne Dow, Natalie Eldridge, Karin Froom, Libba Ingram, Jenn Mason, Lisa McElaney, Martha McNamara, Danica Mijovic-Prelec, Lisa Monrose, Lynn O’Kelley , Mark Pinto, Ilyse Robbins, Robin Saunders-White, Debbie Sewell, Robin White, & Renee Pittman Williams.

WFT applauds our Event Coordinator; Lisa Korak, our emcee, Steve Aveson, the program director, Jane Staab, the musical director, Jon Goldberg, the workshop teachers, the WFT staff & volunteers, and all the fabulous performers, including the children’s chorus, our WFT faves, and our New York City friends, Steve Blanchard, Meredith Inglesby, Marty Thomas, Delaney Moro, and Kathryn Faughnan.

Thank you for making Broadway on the Riverway a night to remember!