Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 19th season kicks off with the world premiere musical Milo Imagines the World, adapted from the book by Newbery-winning children’s author Matt de la Peña and illustrator Christian Robinson. Performances are October 12 – November 10, 2024. Press openings are Saturday and Sunday, October 12 and 13 at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Chicago Children’s Theatre’s newest musical has been adapted for the stage by Chicago actor, director, playwright and teaching artist Terry Guest. The production features an original, hip hop, pop and country music score, music by Christian Albright and lyrics by Christian Magby. One of the city’s top directors, Jeff Award-winner Mikael Burke, is making his Chicago Children’s Theatre debut with Milo Imagines the World.
Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2024-25 season kicks off with the world premiere of Milo Imagines the World, introducing (from left) Ian Thigpen in his Chicago debut as Milo, book by Terry Guest, directed by Mikael Burke, adapted from the popular children’s book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson.
This past June, Guest and Chicago Children’s Theatre received the Joyce Foundation’s prestigious 2024 Joyce Award, earning a $100,000 grant to support CCT’s commission.
Milo Imagines the World follows a young boy who uses art to process the realities of growing up with an incarcerated parent. Audiences join Milo and his big sister, Adrienne, on an urban subway ride. Adrienne is at odds with her little brother and does her best to tune him out, while Milo passes the time drawing colorful pictures of the other passengers, imagining the wonderful lives they must lead. Once the train reaches its destination, Milo understands that you can’t really know anyone’s story just by looking at them.
“By telling Milo’s story, we have the opportunity to expand what children in Chicago see on stage,” says Guest, who is himself the child of an incarcerated parent. “We are reflecting their stories back at them and making them feel less alone. Milo is so many of us, and it’s an honor to bring him to life on the stage.”
“This play is a ride, a musical odyssey of imagination, a journey from house to home,” adds Burke. “Through vibrant songs, expressive dance, and a whole lot of imagination, this magical, musical journey takes audiences through the mind of a child, as he learns to see the world as it really is.”
As part of the play’s development, Guest and Chicago Children’s Theatre are working with children and families affected by incarceration to create opportunities to participate in trauma-informed programming around its themes. For example, midway through rehearsals, families with children with incarcerated parents are being invited to attend a sneak peek open rehearsal, where they can experience the work in progress and offer critical feedback to Guest, Burke and their design and production team.
Trauma-informed awareness plays a key role in CCT’s programming. It seeks to assess, recognize and respond to the effects of traumatic stress on children, caregivers and health care providers. The goal is to leverage the power of theater to promote healthy coping mechanisms and communication, instill confidence, inspire creativity and give youth more hope about their futures.
Press opening weekend for Milo Imagines the World is Saturday and Sunday, October 12 and 13 at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.
Public performances continue through November 10, Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., plus a large number of weekday morning matinees for school groups. Milo Imagines the World is recommended for ages six and up. Run time is approximately 60 minutes.
Single tickets, $30-$40 (including fees) are on sale now. Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org, call (312) 374-8835, or email boxoffice@chicagochildrenstheatre.org for tickets, group rates and more information.
Even better, save money on subscriptions to Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2024-25 season, on sale now at chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
Following Milo, The Beatrix Potter Holiday Party returns November 23-December 29, followed by a magical remount of Manual Cinema’s The Magic City, the inaugural production in CCT’s West Loop home back in 2017, January 25-February 16, 2025. Next spring, one of the most beloved children’s books of all time, P.D. Eastman’s Go Dog Go! Ve Perro ¡Ve!, will become a joyous, inventive, all-ages musical romp, featuring a lively blend of English and Spanish, directed by Steven Dietz, debuting at Chicago Children’s Theatre March 11-May 3, 2025. Four-play packages start at just $110. Or, choose your own three- or two-play subscription package, based on your children’s age ranges and interests.
Chicago Children’s Theatre is located at 100 S. Racine Ave., at Monroe, in the heart of Chicago's West Loop. It’s minutes from I-90 and I-290, as well as downtown and Ashland Avenue. Free, onsite parking is available on the south side of the building. Free street parking can be found nearby on weekends, or try the Impark parking lot, 1301 W. Madison.
Access dates for Milo Imagines the World are:
Sensory Friendly Performance
Saturday, October 26, 9:30 a.m.
ASL Interpretation and Open Captions
Sunday, October 27, 11:30 a.m.
Audio Description and Touch Tour
Sunday, November 2, 2 p.m.
*must confirm attendance two weeks prior to performance
For more, go to chicagochildrenstheatre.org/access_performances or email access@chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
For general information, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org, follow the company on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to its YouTube channel, CCTv: Virtual Theatre and Learning from Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Imagine This: Behind the scenes of Milo imagines the World
Audiences and critics will recall Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 2018 smash hit, world premiere musical Last Stop at Market Street, inspired by de la Peña’s and Robinson’s Newbery-winning book. Since its CCT debut, Last Stop at Market Street has gone on to be one of the top produced plays at TYA theaters across the nation.
Likewise, Milo Imagines the World is a rolling world premiere with its first production at Chicago Children's Theatre, followed by stagings at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis (also directed by Mikael Burke) and the Rose Theater in Omaha.
Chicago Children’s Theatre’s world premiere features Ian Thigpen as Milo. Ian is an Atlanta-based singer and actor who turned heads when he originated the role of MIlo in a workshop production in Chicago this past spring. His stage credits include Young John in John & Jen and Joe Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change, both at Georgia’s Jennie T. Anderson Theatre. He also performed in the animated film Big Bruh on Tubi, and in the short film Colored Tags. In his free time, Ian enjoys reading, traveling, and playing video games with his brother and friends.
Milo Imagines the World features (from left) Ian Thigpen as Milo, Livia Robin as Adrienne, with Brianna Buckley, De’Jah Perkins, Juwon Tyrel Perry and Jake Ziman.
Milo Imagines the World also features Livia Robin as Adrienne, with Brianna Buckley, De’Jah Perkins, Juwon Tyrel Perry and Jake Ziman as the hard-working ensemble. Rohan Degala will also play Milo at some performances. This CCT premiere showcases the work of top Chicago professional artists and designers including Terry Guest (book), Christian Magby (music), Christian Albright (lyrics), Mikael Burke (director), Breon Arzell (choreographer), Christie Chiles Twillie (music director and sound designer), Eleanor Kahn (scenic and props designer), Izumi Inaba (costume designer), Eric Watkins (lighting designer), Catherine Miller (casting director), Wesley Dziedzic (assistant music director), Jeanette Rodriguez (associate costume designer), Shannon Golden-Starr (production stage manager), Zachary Crewse and Alivia Arizaga (assistant stage managers) and Jack Chylinski (young performer supervisor).
Terry Guest (book) is a three-time Jeff Award winning playwright, actor, director and teaching artist. His play The Magnolia Ballet had its National New Play Network (NNPN) rolling world premiere in 2022 and has since gone on to win two Jeff Awards, the NNPN Best New American Play Award, and was featured on NPR. Guest went on to direct his play Marie Antoinette and the Magical Negros at the Story Theatre which won three Jeff Awards (including Best Director and Best New Play). Other works include At The Wake of a Dead Drag Queen, OAK, The Madness of Mary Todd (Goodman Playwrights Unit Commission), and A Ghost in Satin (Williamstown Theatre Festival). As an actor Guest has worked at regional theaters including Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Alliance Theatre, About Face Theatre and Actor’s Express. He is a Governing Ensemble member at The Story Theatre and a teaching artist at Jackalope, Writers Theatre and Chicago Children’s Theatre.
Mikael Burke (director) is a Chicago-based director, deviser and educator. A Princess Grace Award-winner in Theatre and Jeff Award-winning director, his recent credits include Oak by Terry Guest (Urbanite Theatre, World Premiere); Othello by William Shakespeare (Theatreworks Colorado Springs); Short Shakes! Romeo & Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater); Notes from the Field by Anna Deveare Smith (TimeLine Theatre, Chicago Premiere); The Salvagers by Harrison David Rivers (Yale Repertory Theatre, World Premiere); Tambo & Bones by Dave Harris (Refracted Theatre Company, Chicago Premiere, winner of eight Jeff Awards); Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage (Remy Bumppo Theatre Company); The Magnolia Ballet by Terry Guest (About Face Theatre, Chicago Premiere, winner of two Jeff Awards); and Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage (Theaterworks Hartford). Burke is also an adjunct faculty member at DePaul University and Roosevelt University. He earned his MFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University. mklburke.com
Christian Magby (music) is excited to premiere Milo Imagines the World at Chicago Children’s Theatre. Other credits as a composer include his musicals Mother of God and The Incredible Book Eating Boy (Alliance Theatre) which both received world premieres in 2022. He recently had a principal role in Danny Strong’s Berkeley Rep production of Galileo. Recent theater credits include Beauty and the Beast (City Springs Theatre), Christmas in Connecticut (Pioneer Theater Company) and Passing Strange (Theatrical Outfit). He also worked as an actor/music director at Alliance Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Horizon Theatre Company, Georgia Ensemble Theatre and ZACH Theatre, among others. Film/TV credits include the Oscar nominated feature One Night in Miami, two seasons on CW’s The Flash and a recurring on CW’s Legacies. He is an alum of SCAD and the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta.
Christian Albright’s (lyrics, he/him) credits include lyricist for the Incredible Book Eating Boy (Alliance Theatre), co-lyricist for Into the Burrow (Alliance Theatre), book-writer and co-lyricist for Mother of God the musical (Southwest Performing Arts Center) and lyricist for the Seattle Film Festival Selectee, The BoomBox Saints. Albright continues to write songs for numerous artists in Atlanta and for theaters across the country as well as develop musicals and screenplays with other literary professionals. He is grateful to be working on another production with his creative partner and best friend, Christian Magby.
Matt de la Peña (author) is the New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of seven young adult novels, including “Mexican WhiteBoy,” “We Were Here” and “Superman: Dawnbreaker,” and six picture books, including “Milo Imagines the World” and “Last Stop on Market Street.” In 2016 he was awarded the NCTE Intellectual Freedom Award. de la Peña received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific where he attended school on a full basketball scholarship. In 2019 he was given an honorary doctorate from UOP. de la Peña currently lives in Southern California. He teaches creative writing and visits schools and colleges throughout the country.
Christian Robinson (illustrator) was born in Hollywood, California. He grew up in a small one-bedroom apartment with his brother, two cousins, aunt, and grandmother. Drawing became a way to make space for himself and to create the kind of world he wanted to see. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts and would later work with the Sesame Workshop and Pixar Animation Studios before becoming an illustrator of books for children. His books include “Gaston and Antoinette,” written by Kelly DiPucchio, and the #1 New York Times bestseller “Last Stop on Market Street,” written by Matt de la Peña, which was awarded a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor and the Newbery Medal.
About Chicago Children’s Theatre
“The Chicago theater scene is legendarily vibrant, so naturally a number of companies tailor productions to younger audiences. The cream of the crop is Chicago Children’s Theatre.” – Chicago Tribune
Chicago Children’s Theatre, 100 S. Racine St. in Chicago’s West Loop, is Chicago’s destination for the best plays, musicals, classes and performing arts camps for young audiences.
The company was founded in 2005 with a big idea: Chicago is the greatest theater city in the world, and it deserves a great children’s theater. Today, Chicago Children’s Theatre is the city’s largest professional theater company devoted exclusively to children and young families.
In 2017, following 11 years of itinerancy, Chicago Children's Theatre celebrated the opening of its forever home in Chicago’s West Loop community. The building, formerly the 12th District Chicago Police Station, was repurposed into a LEED Gold-certified, mixed-use performing arts, education and community engagement facility. For children, parents, caregivers and teachers, CCT is a convenient, welcoming community hub, centrally located in the city, with free, onsite parking.
Chicago Children’s Theatre has established a national reputation for the production of first-rate children’s theater with professional writing, performing, and directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise. In 2019, the company won the National TYA Artistic Innovation Award from Theatre for Young Audiences/USA. Chicago Children’s Theatre has also garnered six NEA Art Works grants, and in 2017, was the first theater for young audiences to win a National Theatre Award from the American Theatre Wing, creators of the Tony Awards.
In tandem with its live productions, Chicago Children’s Theatre offers a full slate of Access services for patrons with disabilities, including ASL interpretation, open captioning, touch tours and sensory friendly performances. Chicago Children's Theatre provides live theater experiences, classes and camps for children with autism and other special needs via its Red Kite Project. CCT also provides thousands of free and reduced-price tickets to under-resourced schools each season in partnership with Chicago Public Schools.
In addition to live shows, Chicago Children’s Theatre offers a full roster of performing arts education programs year round for ages 0 to 14. Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org/family-programs for information on classes, workshops, winter, spring break and “school’s out” camps, and summer camps. Due to popular demand, in addition to its home in the West Loop, CCT camps and classes have expanded to new locations including Menomonee Club Drucker Center in Lincoln Park.
Chicago Children’s Theatre is supported by Goldman Sachs, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, The Ralla Klepak Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts, The Shubert Foundation, Polk Bros Foundation, The MacArthur Fund for Culture, Equity and the Arts, Bayless Family Foundation, Rivers Casino/Rivers Gives, The Crown Family, Rea Charitable Trust, ComEd, US Bank, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), The Susan M. Venturi Fund in memory of James and Roslyn Marks to Support Theatre Education Access, and Erin and Jason, Ben, Bici and David Pritzker.
Chicago Children’s Theatre is led by Co-Founders, Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell and Board Chair Todd Leland, with Board President Armando Chacon.
For more, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org, follow the company on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to its YouTube channel, CCTv: Virtual Theatre and Learning from Chicago Children’s Theatre.