Hobnob puts on first children’s show with Bantam grant funding
“The Velveteen Rabbit” was one of Courtney McNamara’s favorite books as a child, so when she saw it as an option to be Hobnob Theatre Company’s first children’s production, the choice was obvious.
McNamara is directing Hobnob’s upcoming production of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which debuts Saturday, April 26, and is the first play funded by a $1,100 grant Hobnob received through the Friends of the Bantam Jeep Association.
While Hobnob regularly produces plays, and even has children’s theater workshops and classes, “The Velveteen Rabbit” is the first show it is doing specifically for children, despite the cast being made up of adults. McNamara said, in addition to the story coming from a children’s book, aiming a show at children just requires a little more whimsy than the average adult play.
“The biggest difference is it’s a lot more whimsical, especially this story,” McNamara said. “So it’s adding imaginative elements to the show.”
“The Velveteen Rabbit” is a 1922 book by Margery Williams, and tells the story of a toy rabbit that becomes a real rabbit through the love of its owner. The play is an adaptation of the book, McNamara said, and follows its story beats.
Elizabeth Smith, founder of Hobnob and producer of “The Velveteen Rabbit,” said the play is a good first children’s production because audiences may be familiar with its source material, and it has whimsy while also being “a tug at the heartstrings.”
The cast comprises Jack Cipriani, Min Barlowe, Miriam Elise, Gail Suhr, Emily Sutton and Jeff Myers. Rehearsals began for “The Velveteen Rabbit” just a few before the show’s debut, but McNamara said the cast has been up to the challenge.
“My cast is superb. They just immediately fell into their roles,” McNamara said. “I have to direct them so little, because they are naturally talented.”
According to Smith, this upcoming production is the first of four planned children’s theater shows Hobnob plans to produce with the funding from the Friends of the Bantam Jeep Association. The grant money pays for scripts and the royalties to Theater for Young Audiences, and Smith said the goal of these four children’s shows is to give families an introduction to theater through shows that are aimed at youths.
“We’re excited to make this an opportunity for kids to see shows two or three times a year,” Smith said. “(Parents) can fall in love with theater and have their kids fall in love too.”
This is the first show McNamara is directing for Hobnob, and she is happy to get the chance to work on a show she has a personal connection to.
“To get to come full circle and direct it as an adult and have the kids in my life come see it,” McNamara said.
“The Velveteen Rabbit” shows at 2 and 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27, at Hobnob’s Studio Theater, 134 S. Main St. in Butler. Tickets are $5 each, and can be purchased in advance at hobnobtheatre.ludus.com.
