Music Theater Works, is proud to announce that registration for the final YouthREACH production of its 2024 season, Babes in Toyland, with weekday rehearsals and performance at Music Theater Works’ Joyce Saxon Rehearsal Hall, 516 4th Street, in Wilmette. Babes in Toyland, with music by Victor Herbert and book and lyrics by Glen MacDonough, is directed and choreographed by Caryn Ott Hillman and music directed by Christopher Richard. Babes in Toyland is sponsored by the Victor Herbert Foundation, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the famed composer’s birth. Registration is now available at MusicTheaterWorks.com.
In this modern take on Victor Herbert’s classic holiday story, two children dare each other to stay overnight in a department store. While trying to escape the guard’s notice, they discover that the entire toy department comes alive at night! The brand-new script is being written expressly for this YouthREACH production!
The Kids Company’s production of Babes in Toyland is open for young performers, ages 8 to 13, to learn musical theater from professional performing artists. No experience or audition is required, and every child gets a part. Students must be 8 years old by the start of the workshop and should have a 3rd grade reading level.
The schedule for Babes in Toyland includes rehearsals Monday, Dec. 30 - Friday, Jan. 3, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., excepting Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, which will be 12 – 3 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 3 consists of the regular rehearsal day, followed by one performance with a call time of 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. show.
Rehearsals and the performance are held at Music Theater Works’ Joyce Saxon Rehearsal Hall in Wilmette.
Class size is limited to 40 students for the workshop, and registration is open.
ABOUT VICTOR HERBERT, BABES IN TOYLAND COMPOSER
Victor Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer best known for his many popular operettas on Broadway. Throughout his career he worked on two operas, 43 operettas, 31 compositions for orchestras, and much more. Babes in Toyland is one of his most successful works, as well as his first big hit, which premiered in 1903 on Broadway.
ABOUT MUSIC THEATER WORKS
Music Theater Works is a resident professional not-for-profit music theater founded in
1980. During its 44-year history it has presented more than 150 productions and intimate presentations. Music Theater Works is a professional theater company whose mission is to present works for the musical stage including historic repertoire, revitalizing the Golden Age of Broadway and earlier works, celebrating the Great American Songbook and introducing modern classics.
JOYCE SAXON is the 2024 Music Theater Works Season Sponsor. Thank you to the Victor Herbert Foundation for supporting Music Theater Works’ honoring this musical theater icon during Herbert’s centenary year.
Photos of 2024 Summer Camp by Anthony Robert La Penna