The play is from the novel by Dan Gutman, and will be directed by Jeff Award winner Derrick Sanders.
Performances will play Feb. 8-March 27, 2011, following previews that begin Jan. 28 at Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 North Dearborn Street, Chicago.
The play is a follow-up to the hit 2007 production of Honus and Me. According to CCT, "In Jackie and Me, from Dan Gutman's popular Baseball Adventure Series, Joey Stoshack has to write a report on an African American who's made an important contribution to society. Using his special ability, Joe decides to go back to meet one of history's greatest baseball players, Jackie Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier. Joe plans on writing a prize-winning report, but he doesn't plan on a trip that will forever change his view of history and his definition of courage."
Prolific Dietz is the author of Fiction, Still Life With Iris, Lonely Planet, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure Silence, Inventing Van Gogh, God's Country, Private Eyes, The Nine Variations, Trust, Rocket Man, Halcyon Days, Ten November and More Fun Than Bowling, among others.
The 2010-11 CCT season will also feature the remount of the troupe's popular musical The Hundred Dresses by G. Riley Mills and Ralph Covert, based on the book by Eleanor Estes, directed by CCT artistic associate Sean Graney. A national tour will follow. The Hundred Dresses will play Nov. 3-Dec. 2 at the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts Centre East Theatre, 9501 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, IL. This marks CCT's first production in a suburban Chicago venue.
According to CCT, "The Hundred Dresses tells the story of Wanda Petronski, an imaginative young girl who struggles to fit in with her new American home ― and harder yet, her new classmates. Replete with a myriad of colorful and buoyant characters, The Hundred Dresses is a timeless tale that tackles the subject of bullying head on, while taking audiences of all ages on an unforgettable journey that explores the bonds of friendship, the willingness to be yourself, and the courage that it takes to stand up to others ― even when you’re standing alone."
In February 2011, CCT will return to Millennium Park with Red Kite Round Up, "a unique theatrical experience created specifically for children on the autism spectrum and their families and caregivers. This will be the second time the company has produced this full scale multi-sensory exploration for children with autism." It will play Feb. 1–20, 2011, in the Pritzker Pavilion Choral Rehearsal Room in Millennium Park.
For more information, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
