Talespinner Children's Theatre (TCT) is a professional theater for child audiences based in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Its inaugural season began early 2012 in the

Gordon Square Gordon Square is a public park square in Bloomsbury, London, England. It is part of the Bedford Estate and was designed as one of a pair with the nearby Tavistock Square. It is owned by the University of London. History and buildings The sq ...

neighborhood in the city's Near West Side. In 2023 TCT left Reinberger Auditorium for their new home at 78th Street Studios. Adding offices and new classroom spaces. TCT specializes in presenting imaginative original work inspired by or adapted from classic tales from world literature. Productions feature small ensembles of adult actors, utilizing puppets, dance, movement, music and song and fantastical costumes to bring each play to life for young audiences.
Home page TCT also provides theater-arts classes for children throughout the year.Fox 8 - My Town: Talespinner Children’s Theatre Arts Classes
/ref> Founded by Artistic Director Alison Garrigan, TCT has a board of directors and paid staff.

Critical response

During its decade of history, TCT has received strong support from Cleveland area critics. Rave and Pan blog reviewer Christine Howey has said their work is "always engaging"Rave and Pan - Aesop’s Pirate Adventure
/ref> and CoolCleveland.com has asserted that "performances at Talespinner Children’s Theatre are always magical".CoolCleveland - Adventures in Slumberland @ Talespinner Children’s Theatre packs in the magic
/ref>

Awards

Cleveland Critics Circle, Special Recognition (2013) "for producing shows for kids that adults can enjoy, using local writers as adaptors and playwrights".Cleveland Critics Circle Awards – Top Theatre Picks for 2013, CoolCleveland
/ref>

Productions

2022 season

* ''Aponibolinayen in the Sky (a tale of the Philippines)'' by Elana and Les Hunter * ''The Snowy Day and Other Stories by Ezra Jack Keats'' Adapted for the stage by Jerome Hairston, Based on the books by Ezra Jack Keats * ''Hook & Smee'' by T. Paul Lowry * ''Everything I Feel'' Newly Devised

2018 season

* ''The Oba Asks For a Mountain (A Tale of Nigeria)'' by

Gail Nyoka Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

* ''The Princess & The Nightingale (A Tale of Thailand)'' by Marian Fairman * ''The Boy Who Stole the Sun (and Other Native American Stories)'' adapted by Alison Garrigan * ''A Song in the Flame (A Tale of Israel)'' by Margi Herwald Zitelli * ''Jan & The Trickster (A Polish Tale of Magic)'' by Krysia Orlowski

2017 season

* ''The Brementown Musicians'' adapted by Claire Robinson May * ''Red Onion, White Garlic'' (a tale of Indonesia) adapted by David Hansen * ''Sundiata'' (a tale of Mali) adapted by Nina Domingue Glover * ''The Rainbow Serpent'' (a tale of Aboriginal Australia) adapted by Christopher Johnston * ''Mr. Scrooge's Ghosts'' (a Dickens of a Holiday tale) adapted by Michael Sepesy

2016 season

* ''Peter and the Wolf'' (based on the work of Sergei Prokofiev) adapted by Greg Vovos * ''Golden'' (a Grimm's Faerie tale) adapted by Toni K. Thayer * ''The Crocodile, the Cobra, and the Girl Down the Well'' (a Tale of India) adapted by Anne McEvoy * ''The Mummies and the Magic Prince'' (a Tale of Egyptian Mythology) adapted by Michael Sepesy * ''Hook & Smee'' (a Tale of Never Never Land) adapted by T. Paul Lowry

2015 season

* ''The Fisherman and the Moon'' (Why Moon Reflects on Water) adapted by Alison Garrigan * ''Fire On The Water'' (Part Four of the Elements Cycle) a special presentation produced in collaboration with Cleveland Public Theatre * ''Rosalynde & The Falcon'' (a Topsy-Turvy Tale of England) by David Hansen * ''The Silent Princess'' (a Turkish Folktale) adapted by Claire Robinson May * ''Finn McCool'' (a Tale of Irish Mythology) adapted by Christopher Johnston * ''Prince Ivan & The Firebird'' (a Russian Tale of Magic) adapted by Alison Garrigan

2014 season

* ''Aesop's Pirate Adventure'' By Michael Sepesy * ''The Floating Dolls'' (a Polish Folktale) Adapted by Toni K. Thayer * ''Loki & Lucy'' (a Norse Mythology Story) By Michael Geither * ''Clara and the Nutcracker'' Adapted by Anne McEvoy

2013 season

* ''The Tinderbox'' by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, Adapted by Mike Geither * ''The Emperor's Ears'' (A Serbian Folktale) Adapted by Michael Sepesy * ''Adventures In Slumberland'' (Based on the Characters of

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

) By David Hansen

2012 season

* ''The Tale of the Name of the Tree'' (A Bantu Tale) Adapted by Michael Sepesy * ''Magic Flute'' Adapted by Anne McEvoy

References

External links

Talespinner Children's Theatre website
{{Cleveland Theatre companies in Ohio Arts organizations established in 2012 Children's theatre 2012 establishments in Ohio Culture of Cleveland Performing groups established in 2012 Theatre company production histories