Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College presents
ArtsPower National Touring Theatre’s

The Little Engine That Could™ Earns Her Whistle

Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 2:00 pm

A Target Storybook Series presentation

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College (BCBC) opens its 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series with ArtsPower National Touring Theatre’s The Little Engine That Could™ Earns Her Whistle on Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 2pm.  All tickets are $7 and can be purchased by phone at 718-951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm), or online at www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org.  The performance is recommended for ages four and up.

Believing that anything is possible, believing that magic can be found anywhere, and above all believing in oneself are all lessons to be found in this new musical version of Watty Piper’s timeless tale of Little Blue, a pint-sized engine who dreams of someday leaving the train yard to pull the Piney Vale Express.  Featuring a dynamic score by Richard DeRosa, entertaining lyrics and book by ArtsPower’s artistic director Greg Gunning, and colorful, inventive sets and costumes, the show celebrates the extraordinary strength of “I think I can!”

“For many children, The Little Engine That Could™ Earns Her Whistle may be the first stage production they ever see,” says ArtsPower’s executive producer Gary Blackman.  “Our goal is not only to teach them valuable lessons about self-reliance, but also to instill in them a genuine love of theatre.”

ArtsPower’s twofold mission is to provide young people, many for the very first time, with the unforgettable opportunity to experience the transporting power of outstanding theater that entertains, stimulates, and educates; and to enhance “character education” among young people by creating theater that fosters sound moral development, encourages self-expression, ignites the desire to read, and advances their development as productive members of society.  Celebrating their 28^th anniversary in 2013, ArtsPower is one of America’s preeminent nonprofit producers and presenters of professional theater for young and family audiences.  With over 750 performances annually, the company has amassed an audience of more then 12 million people in 47 states.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College

2/5 trains to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm)
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 3331

About the Target Storybook Series

The centerpiece of BCBC’s 2013-2014 family programming, the Target Storybook Series features performances based on classic and contemporary children’s literature and aims to encourage the development of strong reading skills at home in children ages four to eight.  Each performance is accompanied by a Parents’ Guide, with literacy-based activity sheets, reading tips, and discussion topics, giving parents the opportunity to engage their children both pre- and post-performance.

Other titles in the 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series include Theaterworks USA’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day; Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle; and American Family Theater’s The Wizard of Oz.  All seats for BCBC’s 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series are $7-$10.  Parents’ Guides can be downloaded at www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org/Target_Storybook.asp.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts’ 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series is sponsored by Target.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1954, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College presents outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse communities, at affordable prices.  Each season, Brooklyn Center welcomes over 65,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre, including up to 45,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools who attend their SchoolTime series, one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the borough.  In 2014-2015, Brooklyn Center will celebrate its 60^th anniversary season, which will correspond with the opening of the new Leonard and Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College.

In recognition of its commitment to quality family programming, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts has been recognized as both Brooklyn’s Best Theater or Theater Group for Kids and Brooklyn’s Best Place for Family Bonding by Nickelodeon’s ParentsConnect Parents’ Picks Awards.

About Target

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1832 stores – 1,784 in the United States and 48 in Canada – and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals more than $4 million a week. For more information about Target’s commitment to corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/corporateresponsibility.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts’ programs are supported, in part, by public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.  Major support for the 2013-2014 season is provided by: Brooklyn College; Target; Con Edison; TD Bank; National Grid; Macy’s Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; TD Charitable Foundation; the Herman Goldman Foundation; and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.  Additional support provided by CNG Publications and The Brooklyn Eagle.  The Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center’s 2013-2014 season.  Backstage catering is graciously provided by Applebee’s.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges generous support from New York State Assemblywomen Rhoda Jacobs and Helene E. Weinstein, New York City Councilman Albert Vann and the Department of Youth & Community Development, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate Levin.