Dallas Children's Theater Blog

Astonishing Kids And Families With The Fun of Broadway-Like Plays and A Lot More!

“Tree-ific” Praise of “Mufaro”

During the past eight months, DCT’s highly acclaimed National Touring show Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, based on the Caldecott Award winning story, has impressed audiences across the country, performing 176 times in 56 cities to 125,000 people!

Recently, Abrams 1st grade in Olympia, WA sent us an amazing thank-you (pictured above), telling us how much they enjoyed the performance. Our favorite quotes? “The acting was tree-ific” and “All of it warmed my heart”.

Curious about the tree reference? Come see the show at DCT when it runs Friday, June 22nd through Sunday, July 15th! Join us for this enchanting tale celebrating goodness, generosity and love with traditional chanting, rhythmic drumming and glorious African song.

To purchase tickets for one of the upcoming show times, call the DCT Box Office at 214-740-0051, or visit our website.

DCT Turns Spotlight on Team Libby

Monday night at DCT, more than two-dozen local performers – including Disney princesses, singer-songwriters and actors – lent their talents for an unforgettable show. The memorable evening stood out not just because of what was on the playbill, but whom it was for.

Every performer and every person in the audience came in support of Libby, the 6-year-old daughter of local actress Cara Serber, who was in DCT’s 2009 production of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, and husband Jeff. In March, Libby was diagnosed with cancer, and since that time, friends and loved ones have rallied around the young girl and her family.

And based on the amount of people who quickly filled the DCT lobby within the first half hour of Monday night’s event, it is clear that Team Libby already has a strong following.

The transformative power of theater not only produced an entertaining show Monday night, it also touched the lives of a very special little girl and her family during a time of great need. Monday night’s event raised more than $12,000, which will help with Libby’s medical expenses.

Dallas Children’s Theater donated the space for holding the event, and a huge debt of gratitude goes to all of the performers and other persons who lent a helping hand to make this event possible.

To learn more about Team Libby, including how to view a sweet YouTube video of Broadway stars saying hi to Libby, visit a special Dallas Morning News article. Also, Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews, wrote a very kind note to Libby wishing her well, which you can view here.

DCT Board Member Impacted by “Shared Stories”

During a rehearsal in April 2012, DCT & 6th Floor Museum staff took notes and discussed their collaboration “Shared Stories”.

If you were alive on November 22, 1963, you can probably remember where you were when you heard the news that President Kennedy had been assassinated.

I was in elementary school, and I clearly recall my mother picking my brothers and me up early and telling us the news. Watching the funeral procession on television is another memory I have; imperfect but indelible.

Now that I have teenagers, I have tried to impress them with the solemnity, the importance and the sheer horror of that time. Usually after a few short minutes, their eyes glaze over and I know I have lost their attention. They are probably thinking, “What does this have to do with me?”

Resident playwright Linda Daugherty has written Shared Stories, and with Dallas Children’s Theater joined forces with the Sixth Floor Museum to answer just that question.

Their 20-minute museum theater piece uses a couple of young actors combined with archival videotaped testimony to recount the sentiment of those that experienced firsthand that fateful day. DCT Director Nancy Schaeffer beautifully guides the two young actors, who do a marvelous job bringing immediacy to the events surrounding the death of the President.

DCT Board Member Georgiana Shelokov (right) posed with the show’s director, DCT Education Director Nancy Schaeffer (left) at the 2011 Cabaret Gala. Photo by Dana Driensky

I was privileged enough to see the first (and so far only) public showing of this project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and I truly wish it could be shown in every school around the country. Hopefully, additional funding will be forthcoming to allow further implementation of this program here in Dallas and possibly further afield.

I was so impressed by how the combination of history, drama, film clips and location added up to this truly unique experience. The value of this type of learning experience to share history across generations is immeasurable.

As a board member, I am so proud of how DCT uses its resources to educate and enlighten. It demonstrates the versatility and talent of the wonderful DCT staff beyond their amazing literary performances; works that oftentimes the average theatergoer is not aware of.

Outstanding on the stage and invaluable in the community…We are so lucky to live in a city with a resource like the Dallas Children’s Theater!

Georgiana Shelokov

VP of Education, DCT Board of Trustees