Play Time
ATTPAC sets play date with new family-friendly show series
In addition to the big Broadway musicals and celebrity speakers coming to the AT&T Performing Arts Center, there will also be a flying reindeer, wacky German scientist, masked superhero trio, impressive drum corps, luminescent ducks, and a time-traveling magic tree house.
It's part of the inaugural Family Entertainment series, sponsored by Children's Health, which is bringing in six family-friendly shows featuring music, animation, science, and puppetry.
"We've curated our programming with our community in mind, including more opportunities for families to experience live performances here together," says Debbie Storey, president and CEO of AT&T Performing Arts Center. "We're grateful to Children's Health for their collaboration in staging the amazing for our families in our community."
The new season starts during the holidays, with two performances of DrumLine Live Holiday Spectacular on November 19, 2019, at the Winspear Opera House. Holiday favorites get the gospel, jazz, soul, and Motown treatment, all mixed with a hip-hop beat and the driving force of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) marching band. The show comes direct from the team behind 20th Century Fox's hit movie Drumline and VH1's Drumline: A New Beat.
Two performances of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical are next at the Winspear, at 1 pm and 5 pm on December 15. Based on the beloved 1964 stop-motion animated television classic, the stage show follows a young Rudolph who, because of the appearance of his bright shining nose, is excluded from the Reindeer Games. He flees Christmastown and meets up with new friends Hermey the Elf and Yukon Cornelius. After finding The Island of Misfit Toys, Rudolph journeys home, where a snowstorm of epic proportions is threatening Christmas (yes, there is also a 12-foot-tall Abominable Snowman).
The show is also partnering with PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center, offering a free toolkit to teachers that leverage the powerful messages from the Rudolph story to teach important character values. In addition, a portion of proceeds from venue sales of the book, T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games, will be donated to PACER.
The popular masked crimefighters Catboy, Owlette, and Gekko are teaming up with their new friend PJ Robot in PJ Masks Live!. For two shows on January 20, 2020, at the Winspear, watch as they try to save the day from the sneaky villains Romeo, Night Ninja, and Luna Girl.
Magic Tree House: Showtime with Shakespeare will have four shows, two on January 30 and two on January 31, 2020, in the Wyly Theatre. This new hip-hop musical is based on the Magic Tree House adventure Stage Fright on a Summer Night by New York Times bestselling author Mary Pope Osborne, where Jack and Annie are whisked back to Elizabethan England and meet William Shakespeare himself.
Also enjoying four shows at the Wyly is Doktor Kaboom and The Wheel of Science, a unique, interactive presentation that is different every time. On February 3-4, 2020, find out if he's going to turn a water bottle into a rocket, catapult bananas across the stage, electrocute a pickle, or create artificial gravity.
The first season closes with one performance of Lightwire Theater's The Ugly Duckling on March 1, 2020, at the Winspear. Lined with electroluminescent wire, the beloved story of the ugly duckling plays out onstage through a cutting-edge blend of puppetry, technology, and dance. With dazzling visuals, poignant choreography, and the creative use of music that ranges from classical to pop, this production brings the classic story into a new and brilliant light.
To celebrate the new programming, ATTPAC is offering a 10 percent discount with the purchase of three or more Family Entertainment shows, excluding Magic Tree House: Showtime with Shakespeare and Doktor Kaboom and The Wheel of Science (which are already at a low ticket price of $10).
Six-show packages are on sale now and range from $113 to $301.
Tickets may be purchased online, by calling 214-880-0202, or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House box office.
