When you have a sweet, silly story about a stuffed bear who loses a button and goes on a tear through a department store to find his missing accessory … and that story comes to the stage at the hands of veteran, physical, funny actors, it should be told again and again.
Children’s Theatre Company is about to do that, putting its 2018 world-premiere production of “Corduroy” online starting Monday.
Of course, the Minneapolis theater can’t put shows on stage right now, but audiences who missed the show a couple of years ago – or wanted to see it again – will get a chance to watch the bear (named Corduroy) on his late-night romp through the store, and the efforts of the Night Watchman to curtail the mayhem.
And folks who tune into the virtual performance on Vimeo will also find out if Lisa is able to convince her mother to let her give Corduroy a home.
CTC premiered the production based on books by Don Freeman. Playwright Barry Kornhauser lives in Pennsylvania, so the show going virtual means he can have friends and family who couldn’t see his work live, see it at home. CTC spokesperson Melissa Ferlaak said Kornhauser is “very engaged in this and excited about the distance viewing possibility – cultivating a great crowd in Pennsylvania to watch.”
Actor Dean Holt, who played Corduroy and has been in the Acting Company at CTC for the past 25 years, talked about the show in an email:
“We had a blast putting the show together, trying to figure out how to tell this little story of a bear with a lost button. We leaned into accessing this story with loads of physical comedy and near misses between the Night Watchman and Corduroy.
“I especially liked the unpredictability of all the different props and set pieces, a 14-foot tower of toilet paper (which would be coveted during a pandemic), escalators, mop buckets, shaving cream on floors, trick crates that would make any Scooby Doo fan happy (remember all of their classic chases?) and remote control vacuum cleaners chasing us! Like I said, we had a blast.
“Reed (Sigmund, another CTC veteran who played the Night Watchman) and I are best friends and have had the pleasure of working together for the past 20 years, creating some truly unique and memorable moments onstage and off. Anytime that he and I get to go into a rehearsal room and create something from the ground up is going to be an absolute joy. We know how to support, push, anticipate and work off one another to unlock things we didn’t know we’re there. We always make each other laugh and, I think, bring out the best in one another, as performers and friends.
“I’m excited that ‘Corduroy’ will have a chance to be seen by folks, it’s not the same as being together live, but it should hopefully bring some smiles and laughs which are always a good thing to share.”
Tickets to view the show are at childrenstheatre.org. Cost is $45 to $25. CTC says though there are different prices, it’s all the same experience.
