Rockefeller Productions announced the cast for the limited 13-week Chicago run of of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation presented at the Mercury Theater Chicago (3745 N. Southport Ave.) from March 15 through June 12, 2022. The press performance is set for Thursday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
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.
Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation opens in Chicago on March 15 following its record-breaking New York run. 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
$39. Tickets are on sale now at www.WinnieThePoohShow.com.
A leader in family entertainment, Rockefeller Productions values the safety of its patrons and its staff and will comply with local safety protocols and current CDC and industry safety standards. Health and safety protocols are subject to change in accordance with CDC and local public health mandates.
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.
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 reimagining 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 12/2022