What happens when The Ugly Duckling grows up to be a REALLY Ugly Duck? Will the wolf EVER catch up to Little Red Running Shorts? And does ANYONE catch the Stinky Cheese Man (and do they want to!?)
These questions and more will be answered at Northwest Children’s Theater’s upcoming Mainstage performance, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. The show is presented on The Schnitzer Stage at The Judy, NWCT’s new home in downtown Portland, July 22 through August 6, 2023.
NWCT alumni are returning to Portland from across the country to work on stage and behind the scenes on The Stinky Cheese Man – including Derek R. Herman, who is flying in from New York City to direct the show. Returning to work with NWCT over the summer was a no-brainer for him. “My dream has always been to return to NWCT at some point in my life,” he says. Herman recently received a master’s in Theater Education from NYU. While he was there, he reflected heavily on his time as a young actor at NWCT. “My experience at NWCT is at the core of everything I do. NWCT entrusts young people and pushes them to be their best selves,” he expresses. “The place that gave me my start as a professional actor is now giving me my start as a Theater for Young Audiences professional; it’s a full-circle moment.”
Herman’s vision for The Stinky Cheese Man centers around Jack (of beanstalk fame) who has created a play with a troupe of actors … but things don’t go quite the way they planned. The result? A marvelous mixup of very cheesy stories!
The script is based on the 1993 Caldecott Honor book of the same name and features a cast of colorful characters and zany musical numbers. Parents may remember the hilarious parodies from the book that flips classic fairy tales on their head – Cinderella snubs Rumpelstiltskin, frogs trick princesses into kissing them with no magical outcome, and tortoises race “hairs” with no end in sight. Now they can see these irreverent tales come to life on stage, and share them with their kids! But they should be warned: This play is incredibly stupid.
Tickets are on sale now. NWCT offers a sensory friendly performance of The Stinky Cheese Man at The Judy, free of charge. Featuring shorter run times, reduced or removed lighting and sound cues, and the constant presence of house lights, these performances are specially designed for children on the autism spectrum or with other sensory sensitivities.
The Stinky Cheese Man is produced in part through the support of the Regional Arts and Culture Council, Kafoury McDougal: Lawyers for the People, the Oregon Arts Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust, Pacific Office Automation, and NWCT’s donor families; plus media sponsor PDX Parent.
Learn more here.
This article is published courtesy of Northwest Children’s Theater.
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