"There's No Business Like Shoe Business" Musical Plays Sunday!

Typically, East Bay Children’s Theatre (EBCT) productions are staged exclusively for elementary school children, as the company goes on an extensive tour to underserved Title-1 elementary school districts.

But for one day only, local families will have an opportunity to see a musical presented by East Bay Children’s Theatre (EBCT), when the venerable troupe brings it’s latest musical hit to Lafayette audiences in a rare public performance at Town Hall Theatre.

“There’s No Business Like Shoe Business,” by local writer Ron Lytle, is a revival of EBCT’s massively successful 2005 debut presentation of the show. When the company was unable to find a satisfactory musical version of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, The Shoemaker and The Elves, they commissioned a brand new one from Lytle. He added his trademark twists and toe-tapping tunes to the classic story, and EBCT had an immediate hit on their hands. Now it’s back in a sparkling ten-year anniversary production.

East Bay Children’s Theatre was founded in 1933. For the past eighty-three years, the mission of the company has been to bring live theatre into the lives of underprivileged children in the East Bay. EBCT provides this indispensible service free of any charge to the schools it serves. They’ve never missed a season, making them the oldest continuously operating theatre company in the Bay Area. Ticketed events, such as their March 22 appearance in Lafayette, help to defray a portion of the costs of their school tours.

The “Shoe Business” cast includes talent brought together from across the Bay Area: Ken Woolfe (Shoemaker), Marian Simpson (Mrs. Shoemaker), Jeff Morrill (The Leather Monger), Elly Rokeach (Purrnella), Hilary Ann Stevens (Gertie), Rebecca Ariel Fox (Trudy), Alexis Jensen (Prudence), Eve Tieck (Pat), Emily Kessel (The Little Girl), Harriet Hanauer (Little Girl’s Mother), Barbara Ann Cecchetti (The Customer), Ben Tucker (The Landlord), Grace Poon (The Fisherwoman) and Barbara Sloane (The Street Sweeper.)

The story has all the fairy tale prerequisites necessary to entertain children, but enough humor and sophisticated wit to keep the adults entertained, too. When a poor Cobbler is tricked by the wicked Leather Monger, he finds himself in danger of losing his home, his livelihood, and even his beloved cat Purrnella. What to do?! Send in the Elves! Will the pointy-eared misfits save the day? Will the Leather Monger get what’s coming to him? Will there be a happy ending? Does a Stiletto have a Heel?

Don’t be a loafer! If past is prologue, this limited event is sure to sell out. So get those tickets early!

East Bay Children’s Theatre presents the musical “There’s No Business Like Shoe Business” (based on the Grimm Bros fairy tale The Shoemaker and the Elves) at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette (March 22, at 1:30 and 3:30.)

For tickets and more information, visit www.ebctOnline.org

Walk-ups available on a first-come, first serve basis.