Kansas Arts on Tour Roster - Theatre

Music and lyrics are by Grammy-winning songwriter Michael Silversher (Grammy Best Children’s Album—“Elmo in Grouchland”).  He is also a three-time Emmy nominee, for “Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree,” “Boo! To You Too, Winnie the Pooh” and “Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You.”  Additional work includes more than a hundred songs for the Disney catalog, including “Little Mermaid 2,” “Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” “Tale Spin,” and “Aladdin: The Return of Jafar.”  His stage musicals include “How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World," with Wendy McLeod, for the Kennedy Center.

Book writer Richard Hellesen is an award-winning author of numerous plays for adults and children. The latter include seven Educational Touring Shows, all with Michael Silversher, three of which were produced at the Sundance Children's Theatre in Utah. Nationally, Hellesen's work has been seen at leading theaters across the nation. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

The William Inge Center for the Arts presents two funny, moving and educational-based musicals for grades K-8.

Program Description

• The Pride of Weedpatch Camp: 45-minute musical inspired by historic events. Deenie is a young Oklahoma girl whose family loses their farm during the Dust Bowl. They migrate to California, where they are ostracized as “dumb Okies.” But at the Weedpatch Camp, Deenie becomes part of the true story of Leo Hart, who resolved to help the students who were excluded from California schools. Hart and the children build their own school--it becomes not just a success, but symbolic of the success of perseverance and the embodiment of the children’s hope for the future.

• Face 2 Face: Told partially in commedia style, with masks. Face 2 Face follows the journey of Beeno, who is shunned because of the way he looks. Benno passes through phases of self-rejection and anger before he accepts himself as he is and helps others to accept him, too. Benno and his friends learn that the challenge for all is to recognize and respect our outer differences while remembering and appreciating our inner similarities.