THEATRE + COMEDY

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents Dallas Children's Theatre:  Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 10am and a NEW! Evening performance at 7pm.

The Grand 1894 Opera House’s 2010-2011 Serious Fun season opens with two performances of The Dallas Children's Theatre's production of Giggle, Giggle Quack on Tuesday, October 12th at 10am and 7pm. Returning this year to the Serious Fun Children’s Series are evening performances, and new this year is a pre-show dinner option for families on the go. Recommended for children in grades pre-K through third grade, kids of all ages will enjoy this hilarious sequel to the barnyard blockbuster, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.

There's a duck on the loose at The Grand. Good ole Farmer Brown decides to take a vacation and leaves his city-slicker brother, Bob, in charge with specific directions on how to care for the animals. Duck re-writes the instructions demanding “pizza for the hen”, “bubble baths for the pig”, and “movie night for the cow.” It’s another madcap musical mutiny, so come and join the fun! Giggle, Giggle Quack is based on the book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin and adapted by James E. Grote with music and lyrics by George Howe.

Pre-performance dinners of Hot Dogs or PB&J sandwiches (with side and drink) will be available for the evening performances from 6-6:45pm in Edna’s Room at The Grand. An additional ticket is needed for the dinners and is available at $5 per person.

The children's series performances have been designated The Harris L. Kempner Children's Series in honor of his lifelong commitment to youth, education and The Grand's programming.

CURTAINS UP ON THE AUTHOR
Doreen Cronin is the New York Times bestselling author of Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider; as well as Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, a Caldecott Honor Book; and Giggle, Giggle, Quack. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and their daughters.

CURTAINS UP ON THE ILLUSTRATOR
Betsy Lewin grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She always loved to draw and has always wa nted to be an artist. After graduating from Pratt Institute where she studied illustration, Ms. Lewin designed greeting cards. Later, she began to write and illustrate stories for children’s magazines, and then expanded to illustrating children’s picture books. Betsy’s art is usually humorous, drawn in pen or brush with watercolor washes, as in Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack but she also paints in a naturalistic style as in Chubbo’s Pool.

CURTAINS UP ON THE PLAYWRIGHT
Jim Grote has been a member of the artistic ensemble of Lifeline Theater in Chicago, Illinois since 1999. He became a playwright for Lifeline in 2000 with his adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair, which was named the best family show of that year by the Chicago Tribune. Along with Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Jim has adapted Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Duck for President, both also based on the book series by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin. He has also adapted The Dirty Cowboy and Deep in the Jungle for Lifeline’s KidSeries. Mr. Grote has also appeared onstage in Everyman at Steppenwolf Theatre, The Secret of the Old Queen at Stage Left Theatre, and has toured with the National Theatre for Children and Health Works Theatre. Jim is a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.

CURTAINS UP ON THE COMPOSER
George Howe is an award winning composer/lyricist/cabaret artist. He has written the songs for many other children’s shows including Brave Potatoes; Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch; and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. His latest musical, Sleeping Ugly, which premiered at Griffin Theatre in 2006, won him a 2006 After Dark award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics.

Rated by TIME Magazine as one of the top 5 theaters in the nation performing for youth, Dallas Children’s Theater is a professional theater serving more than 270,000 young people and their families through its 11 main stage productions, national touring company, and education and outreach programs. As the only major organization in Dallas focusing solely on youth and family theater, DCT builds bridges of understanding between generations and cultures, instilling an early appreciation of literature, art and the performing arts in tomorrow’s artists and patrons.

In October 2003, following an $8.6 million renovation, DCT celebrated the grand opening of its 58,000 square foot facility, the Rosewood Center for Family Arts.