The Children's Theatre Project Bring 'Shrek, The Musical' to Concord

The Children’s Theatre Project (“CTP”), the youth arm of The Community Players of Concord, is proud to celebrate its 20th Anniversary with two very special shows on the same weekend, according to a press release.

First up - “Shrek, The Musical, Jr.,” the irreverently funny story of everyone’s favorite green ogre from the Oscar-winning Dreamworks Animation film. In this crowd-pleasing tale, the grouchy ogre Shrek, with an unwelcome, wise-cracking donkey side-kick, begrudgingly undertakes to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded tower, and to deliver her to the tiny and terrible Lord Farquaad, in the hope that Farquaad will help Shrek’s clear his swampy home of the fairytale misfits who have taken refuge there.

This heart warming show, with a central theme of embracing one’s true self, features lively music, elaborate costumes, colorful sets and a talented cast of 40 local actor/singers ages 8–17. Performances will be staged at the Concord City Auditorium (“the Audi”), 2 Prince St. in Concord on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17, and 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are general admission and are available on-line, at communityplayersofconcord.org, or at the Audi Box Office.

Tickets purchased on-line before Oct. 14 cost $13; all tickets purchased on or afterOct. 14 cost $15. The Audi Box Office hours are Wed.-Fri., Oct. 14–16, 4:30–7:30 pm, Sat. Oct. 17, noon-7:00 pm, and Sun. Oct. 18, noon-2:00 pm.

That same weekend at the Audi, on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., The Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio takes the stage in a benefit concert to raise funds for the Jakob Murray Lange Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance for children wishing to attend CTP winter vacation or summer theatre camps. Jordan, a CTP alum (he played Gandalf in The Hobbit in 2001), was named a Master Artist by the NH Traditional Arts Council in 2013. He will be joined by fellow NH natives Matt Jensen on guitar and Chris Noyes on upright bass. The trio blends Celtic music with original material, serving up a high-energy show full of foot-stompin’ fiddle tunes and classic sing-alongs. Jakob Murray Lange, the CTP alum after whom the scholarship fund is named, was a life-long amateur participant in the performing arts - as actor, musician, filmmaker and more. After Jakob died in an automobile crash in 2013 at the age of 24, his mother, Mary Deal of Concord, established the scholarship fund to honor Jakob’s memory and to help ensure that children who cannot otherwise afford to do so might be able to partake of the joyful experiences that Jakob had with CTP. Benefit concert tickets may be purchased on-line at JordanTWmusic.com, or at the Audi Box Office during the Box Office hours mentioned above. Tickets purchased on-line before Oct. 14th cost $10. All tickets purchased on or after Oct. 14th cost $12.

Director Karen Braz, co-founder of CTP and its director from the group’s beginning, is justifiably proud of CTP and its accomplishments during its 20-year history. CTP has provided an affordable opportunity for many hundreds of children from Concord and surrounding towns to explore their interests in all aspects of theatre. Karen herself cannot remember a time in her life when she was not involved with theatre. As a very young child, she was a back stage helper and later actor in a children’s theatre program her mother co-founded in North Conway, at the location that is now the Eastern Slope Playhouse. She continued as an actor and assistant director into her teens, and later, as a young adult, moved to Florida where she performed in many community and dinner theater productions. Nowadays, Karen works full time as a sign language interpreter in the Manchester School district, and is co-director of a theatre program there for deaf and hard of hearing students. Karen still occasionally sings and performs on stage herself, but she is busiest as a director, heading up multiple productions every year for various NH groups, including the Junior Service League of Concord, the Performance Ensemble Group at Rundlett Middle School, and of course, CTP, which she treasures perhaps most of all. Karen will be directing Community Players of Concord adults in the group’s spring, 2016 mainstage production of Pirates of Penzance.

More information about CTP and its 20-year history is available at: communityplayersofconcord.org/childrens-theater/