Enter to WIN a Family Four Pack of Tickets Below
THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF DISNEY’S WINNIE THE POOH: THE NEW MUSICAL STAGE ADAPTATION
AT THE MERCURY THEATRE
Winnie the Pooh Cast (Chris Palmieri, Jake Bazel, Emmanuel Elpenord, Kirsty Moon)_Photo Credit/ Evan Zimmerman (MurphyMade)
“Enchanting!” Time Out
“Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is magical, sweet as honey, and full of humor. It's a wholesome, delightful, enchanting piece of theatre.” BroadwayWorld
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Here at ChiIL Mama we were raised on A. A. Milne's timeless tales of Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit and Owl (and Tigger too!). It was a joy to introduce the books and the classic Disney featurettes to our own children, and now we're jazzed to see the stage adaptation! We're thrilled to partner up with the production to offer a chance for two of our readers to win free family four pack of tickets to Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation. Sing Ho for the life of a bear and plan your own adventure with life-sized puppets, in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Enter at the bottom of this post for your chance to win!
Winnie the Pooh, Kristina Dazon (Kanga), Kirsty Moon (Roo)
Photo Credit/ Evan Zimmerman (MurphyMade)
After its acclaimed, record-breaking run in New York City, Jonathan Rockefeller’s Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation will arrive in Chicago on March 15, 2022 for a limited 13-week run through June 12, 2022 at the Mercury Theatre Chicago (3745 N. Southport Ave.) For tickets and more information about Winnie the Pooh, visit www.WinnieThePoohShow.com.
Inspired by the beloved books by A. A. Milne and the classic Disney featurettes, the production was welcomed in New York with rave reviews where it was called “A perfect reintroduction to live theater. It’s a captivating adventure with spectacular puppetry,” (Mommy Poppins); “Charming and whimsical stage show that Pooh surpasses every expectation I had for it,” (The Laughing Place); “Winnie the Pooh is delightfully first-rate,” (Theatre Pizzazz); “Irresistible. ‘Winnie the Pooh’ is sweeter than honey,” (DC Metro Arts); “An hour of bountiful joy,” (New York Theatre Guide); “Mesmerizing life-size puppets and original Sherman Brothers tunes, the beautiful new Winnie the Pooh musical is must-see,” (Theatrely); and “The wonderful thing about musicals is that musicals are wonderful things. The New ‘Winnie the Pooh’ Musical Is Sweeter than Honey,” (Toy Insider.)
“The music, the life-size puppets, and the charming performances are the perfect way to introduce (or re-introduce) audiences to live theatre, and this is a must-see show for Winnie the Pooh fans of all ages. I am thrilled to be entrusted to bring this celebrated character to the stage for new audiences as they join our adventure into the Hundred Acre Wood. And what a grand adventure we had in New York City and now we look forward to celebrating Pooh and friends in Chicago,” said Jonathan Rockefeller, creator of Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation.
In a new story from the Hundred Acre Wood, this fresh stage adaptation is told with impressive life-size puppetry, telling exciting new stories featuring characters that have played iconic roles in the lives of children for generations. Accompanying the magical, modern narrative is an original score from Nate Edmondson, which features some of the songs written for the animated feature from The Sherman Brothers’, including Winnie the Pooh, The Blustery Day, The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and Whoop-De-Dooper Bounce and A.A. Milne’s The More It Snows (featuring music by Carly Simon) and Sing Ho, a new arrangement.
Winnie the Pooh broke theatre box office records during its New York premiere for largest advance and is developed and presented by renowned family entertainment creator Jonathan Rockefeller (whose spectacular puppetry is omnipresent in the acclaimed productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets in a Jam and the recently released streaming film Paddington Saves Christmas).
A leader in family entertainment, Rockefeller Productions values the safety of its patrons and its staff and will enforce current CDC and industry safety standards, all patrons will be required to wear a mask inside the theatre, and every person 12 + will be required to show proof of vaccine before entering the theatre. Children 5-11 will be admitted with one vaccine that was administered at least 14 days prior to performance. For children under 5, proof of a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time will be accepted. Health and safety protocols are subject to change in accordance with CDC and local public health mandates.
The Mercury Theatre Chicago is located at 3745 N. Southport Ave., Chicago
Tickets are now available by visiting www.WinnieThePoohShow.com
Performances are Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Saturdays at 10 a.m., 2 and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., with ticket prices starting at $38.
The cast features members of the acclaimed Off-Broadway theatrical show, including Jake Bazel as Pooh; Chris Palmieri as Tigger; Emmanuel Elpenord as Eeyore, Rabbit and Owl; and Chicagoans Emilie Rose Danno, Carolyn Plurad, and Tina-Kim Nguyen rotate in the roles of Piglet, Roo and Kanga.
“As we embark on a national tour for Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, with Chicago
as our next stop for the Hundred Acre Wood, we are proud to have a group of
local actors joining our cast to play the distinct roles of Kanga, Piglet and
Roo. Emilie, Tina and Carolyn are dynamic performers who perfectly embody the
beloved characters, based on the classic book and animated film. They will
superbly complement the returning cast members as we bring this production to
the Mercury Theatre Chicago,” said Jonathan Rockefeller, creator of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation.
The creative team for the show includes creative director Jonathan Rockefeller, co-scenic designers Jack Golden and Josh Warner, costume designer Lindsay McWilliams, lighting designer Jamie Roderick and original music and orchestrations were composed by Nate Edmonson. Puppets were created by Rockefeller Productions under lead puppet builders Matthew Lish and Ben Durocher. The production also features songs from the Disney featurette by the Oscar® and Grammy® Award-winning American songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
About the artists in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation:
Jonathan Rockefeller (creator and director) is an acclaimed American/Australian
producer, director and writer. Creator of family entertainment, Rockefeller’s
original works include Disney's Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets In a Jam, Elmer the
Patchwork Elephant Show, Mr Men & Little Miss On Stage, That Golden Girls
Show!: A Puppet Parody.
Jake Bazel (Pooh) is a puppeteer, voice actor, writer and coach with over a decade of experience working in children’s media. Additional credits include Sesame Street (HBO/PBS), Sesame Workshop’s Helpsters (Apple TV+), Rockefeller Productions’ The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets in a Jam and more. He often serves on faculty at The Highlight Foundation and as an animation voice acting coach, alongside Sunday Music at Great Big Voices.
Chris Palmieri (Tigger) is a puppeteer and voice actor known for his work in the Emmy-nominated preschool series Snug’s House (NBC/Universal Kids). Additional credits include King Cryolophosaurus in Jim Henson’s Dinosaur Train Live. Palmieri also served as a puppet builder for Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live.
Emmanuel Elpenord (Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl) is a puppeteer known for his work in the original cast of the off-Broadway production of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Adaptation. Additional credits include puppeteering for national and international runs of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show with Rockefeller Productions, Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater and the Bryant Park Shakespeare production of Othello.
Emilie Rose Danno (Piglet/Roo, Kanga) is a Chicago-based actor, who most recently played Audrey in Little Shop Of Horrors at Metropolis Theatre, where she earned a
Broadway World Chicago nomination for Best Performer in a Musical. Danno has
worked in a number of other theatrical productions across the Chicagoland area
at The Miracle Center, West Side Improv and Blank Theatre Cabaret.
Tina-Kim Nguyen (Piglet/Roo, Kanga) is a Chicago-area actor with credits like The Legacy of Sherwood Forest at Inkwell Arts and Learning, Water by the Spoonful at Northeastern Illinois University, and Richard III at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre.
Carolyn Plurad (Piglet/Roo, Kanga) is an award-winning actor with acting credits in City Lit’s production of Fuente Ovejuna, and The Butcher’s Son by Vi Nhan Tran. Her performance as Xinh in The Butcher’s Son was nominated in the Best Supporting Performer category of the Chicago Musical Theater Festival in 2018, and the play was the festival’s Most Promising Musical winner in the same year. Other credits include performances with the Lifeline, Oil Lamp Theater, The Second City, Steel Beam Theater, Odds Bodkin, and Chicago Kid’s Company.
Winnie the Pooh, Chris Palmieri (Tigger), Emmanuel Elpenord (Rabbit)
Photo Credit: Evan Zimmerman (MurphyMade)
ABOUT THE SHOW
Winnie the Pooh has been enjoyed by millions of readers and viewers ever since English author A.A. Milne first chronicled the adventures of Christopher Robin’s friends in the Hundred Acre Wood in 1926. The books, featuring illustrations by English illustrator E.H. Shephard, have sold over 50 million copies worldwide. The theatrical rights to the Pooh stories were acquired by Disney in 1961, with an original intent to produce a feature film, but after production began, Walt Disney decided to make short featurettes instead. The three featurettes were subsequently incorporated into the feature The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This was the last film in the Disney canon in which Walt Disney had personal involvement. The first featurette, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree was released during his lifetime, while Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day was still in development. Disney’s Winnie the Pooh has since become one of the best-loved and most successful franchises in history.
The Sherman Brothers are the multi-talented Oscar® and Grammy® Award-winning American songwriting duo of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The Sherman Brothers wrote more motion-picture musical scores than any other songwriting team in film history. Among these are the Disney classics Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The Aristocats. The Sherman Brothers worked directly with Walt Disney on the first two Winnie the Pooh featurettes: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (which garnered a Grammy Award nomination) and Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. The brothers won a Grammy Award for the third featurette: Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. All three featurettes were incorporated into the 1977 musical film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The duo also wrote songs for Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore and The Tigger Movie, with their music also featured in the movie Christopher Robin.
Jonathan Rockefeller and Rockefeller Productions embraced the challenge of re-imaging Disney’s Winnie the Pooh for a new audience by bringing it to life on stage in puppet form. The company has garnered global accolades, from critics and audiences alike, for their production of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, with 14 productions playing on four continents. An extended run of the show in New York City culminated in Drama Desk and Off-Broadway Alliance nominations, as did Paddington Gets in a Jam, which tours China and the US in 2022. Other projects include the award-winning short film, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, written by preeminent author/illustrator Eric Carle and the recently released Christmas special Paddington Saves Christmas.
Produced in association with Disney Theatrical Productions
Winnie the Pooh, Jake Bazel (Pooh)
Photo Credit/ Evan Zimmerman (MurphyMade)
a Family Four Pack of Tickets from ChiIL Mama
To Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation at Chicago's Mercury Theatre
Two winners will receive 4 tickets each to your choice of show dates (pending availability). Contest open through midnight March 22nd, 2022. Enter early and often. Winners will be emailed and announced here, on our site, as well as via our social media outlets. Good luck!
Winnie the Pooh, Chris Palmieri (Tigger)
Photo Credit/ Evan Zimmerman (MurphyMade)
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