Welcome to our 2010-2011 Season!
Last fall, CATCO and The Phoenix Theatre for Children announced we would merge to provide greater service to central Ohio theatre audiences of all ages. Now we are ready to unveil our combined inaugural season, which promises to have something for everyone!
The season was chosen with three guiding words — delight, challenge, transport — and we know you won’t be disapointed!
Season support provided by:
The Columbus Foundation – Ohio Arts Council – Greater Columbus Arts Council
Thrive in Five – Nationwide Foundation – The Shubert Foundation
The CATCO 2010-2011 Season is dedicated to William B. Conner Jr.
Past CATCO is Theatre Seasons
September 29-October 24, 2010
Studio One, Riffe Center
In this world premiere musical by Tony nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), smoking has been outlawed in America, but Pam is finding it impossible to quit. Her struggle is complicated by husband Ernie, who dreams of being a rock star, and their teenage son Jimmy, who listens to so much rap music he’s convinced he’s black.
October 22 – October 31, 2010
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Ichabod Crane is an educated man among bumpkins, who fancies himself an artist, an intellectual and a highly desirable suitor.
November 23-December 12, 2010
Studio One, Riffe Center
Experience the story of idealistic George Bailey as he struggles to cope with misfortune and considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve in a version never-before-seen in central Ohio.
December 2-26, 2010
Studio Three, Riffe Center
Laugh yourself silly once again with a repeat engagement of The Santaland Diaries, a wildly funny one-act play written by David Sedaris, NPR commentator and one of America’s leading humorists. CATCO favorite Jon Putnam once again stars in this back-by-popular-demand, hilarious account of Sedaris’ experiences working as the least-jolly department store elf during the busiest retail time of the year.
January 7-16, 2011
Studio One, Riffe Center
The residents of Idaville have given teenager Leroy Brown the nickname of “Encyclopedia” because of his acute skill in deductive reasoning.
February 2-20, 2011
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf was a riddle inside of a puzzle, a secret inside an enigma. She survived the Nazis and then East German Communists while protecting Edison phonographs, regulator clocks, quaint antiques, and ultimately other people. But was she savior or collaborator, hero or traitor, noble or corrupt? The answer emerges in this Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
February 25 – March 11, 2011
Studio One, Riffe Center
Fern can’t bear the thought that the runt of a litter of pigs will be destroyed, and she begs her father to let her keep the scrawny piglet as a pet.
March 30-April 17, 2011
Studio One, Riffe Center
A psychiatric clinic becomes a comic carnival of chaos as mistaken identities, attempted seductions, red herrings, lost relatives and political intrigues unfold in this classic farce.
May 13-15, 2011
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
How will you know, unless you try? This play is divided into four stories, each of which takes place in or around a school. Four children in four completely different situations all strive for the same goal: to reach for the stars and achieve success!
June 1-19, 2011
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. It’s all up to Ash (a housewares employee, turned demon-killing hero), and his trusty chainsaw to save the day. Blood flies. Limbs are dismembered. Demons are telling bad jokes… and all to music!
November 22-December 11, 2011
Studio Two, Riffe Center
New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins fancied she could sing. Forget that she had no sense of rhythm or pitch, and was barely able to sustain a note– she was convinced that she had talent!
December 9-11, 2011
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
This one-hour version of Tolkien’s classic novel is a suspenseful, fast-moving journey through the sometimes dark, sometimes charming, but always compelling world of Middle Earth.
January 6-15, 2012
Studio One, Riffe Center
If you give a mouse a cookie, then the fun never ends!
February 1-19, 2012
Studio Two, Riffe Center
A combination of the Cold War and the McCarthy hearings sets the tone for betrayal in the United States.
March 2-11, 2012
Studio One, Riffe Center
Christopher Robin has decided to run away with his friends Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and the rest.
March 14-April 1, 2012
Studio Two, Riffe Center
The poignant theme is that each of our belief systems is as individual as our thumb prints.
April 13-15, 2012
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
The delightful and definitive musical adaptation concerns the valiant friendship of the good-hearted and poetic Water Rat; the innocent and curious Mole; and the sensible, practical Badger.
May 9 – June 3, 2012
Studio One, Riffe Center
Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptation of John Buchan’s novel recreated by four actors in this Monty Python-esque stage homage.
July 6 – 8, 2012
Shedd Theatre, Columbus Performing Arts Center
Inspired by the music and story of Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf (written in 1936), this adaptation includes the idea of a play within a play with the opportunity for audience members to become a part of the story!
July 20 – 22, 2012
Shedd Theatre, Columbus Performing Arts Center
The residents of Idaville have given teenager Leroy Brown the nickname of “Encyclopedia” because of his skill in deductive reasoning.
November 9 – 18, 2012
Studio One, Riffe Center
Was it Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, or Peter?
November 23 – December 23, 2012
Studio Three, Riffe Center
Does eggnog heal a broken heart?
November 28 – December 16, 2012
Studio Two, Riffe Center
When did you meet your best friend?
December 7 – 16, 2012
Shedd Theatre, Columbus Performing Arts Center
Produced in Association with Columbus Recreation and Parks
Can you imagine far away places?
April 3-21, 2013
Studio One, Riffe Center
The puppets are coming, but they aren’t from Sesame Street.
April 5 – 14, 2013
Shedd Theatre, Columbus Performing Arts Center
Produced in Association with Columbus Recreation and Parks
Conjunction Junction what’s your function?
August 30 – September 1, 2013
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
A salute to the “play within the play” of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
October 4 – 13, 2013
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Tom Sawyer is a rascal, a scamp, and a mischief-maker. He is also the best friend Huck Finn has ever had.
November 6 – 24, 2013
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Sam Peliczowski may be an out-of-work actor, but he is a powerhouse dealmaker when he mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s top restaurant. A cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing to land the perfect table.
January 10-February 1, 2014
Studio Three, Riffe Center
A satirical send-up of Broadway musicals from Les Miz to Mamma Mia, Wicked to The Phantom of the Opera. Nothing is sacred in this hit musical review.
January 17 – 26, 2014
Studio One, Riffe Center
From the moment his tall, red-and-white-striped hat appears around the door, Sally and her brother know The Cat in the Hat is the funniest, most mischievous cat they have ever met. But what will mum find when she gets home…?
February 5 – 23, 2014
Studio Two, Riffe Center
A breathless story of a seafaring, Victorian gentleman whose adventures spring to life like a theatrical pop-up book.
March 6-April 13, 2014
Studio Three, Riffe Center
Everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit.
March 26 – April 13, 2014
Studio One, Riffe Center
A circle of chatty Southern ladies keeps the pulse of life in a small Louisiana town from the town’s epicenter, Truvy’s beauty salon.
April 25 – May 4, 2014
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
In this classic story the audience becomes a part of the action on stage.
May 28 – June 22, 2014
Studio Two, Riffe Center
In 1961 Louise Seger struck up a conversation with Patsy Cline in a honky-tonk.
July 23-August 10, 2014
Studio One, Riffe Center
Two conmen live the high life on the French Riviera. When the American Soap Queen arrives on the scene, a wager is made.
August 29-31, 2014
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
Time travel abounds in this science fiction romp which was first produced on the CATCO stage in the early days of its original Park Street Theatre. Only a very serious playwright could produce such an insane comedy!
September 25-November 9, 2014
Studio Three, Riffe Center
Delight in this boy group singing ‘50’s standards in four-part harmony.
October 22-November 9, 2014
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Asher Lev is a Hasidic Jew. He is also a prodigy who must be a painter, though it flies in the face of family, community and tradition. His gift must be realized, but at what cost?
December 3-21, 2014
Studio One, Riffe Center
This twenty-first century retelling of the yuletide classic delighted audiences with merriment, redemption and song last season.
January 16-25, 2015
Studio One, Riffe Center
“Why are they going fast in those cars? What are they going to do?” P. D. Eastman’s questions are answered through music and movement in this thoroughly enchanting adaptation for canine lovers young and old.
May 1-10, 2015
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
When Ugly hatches, the other animals are quick to notice that he doesn’t look like any of his darling duckling siblings.
June 18-July 25, 2015
Studio Three, Riffe Center
A musical about two guys writing a musical about two guys writing a musical—with a little help from their friends.
August 28-September 6, 2015
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
A whimsical reinvention of Shakespeare’s tragic love story, complete with rhymed couplets, creative wordplay, and fantastical machines!
October 21-November 8, 2015
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Fresh from its Broadway revival, this Tony® Award-winning tour-de-force has touched the hearts of theatre-goers since its British debut in 1978.
December 2-20, 2015
Studio One, Riffe Center
Adventure, comedy, surprise, and music blend to transport audiences to the high seas in this prequel to the iconic story of Captain Hook and Peter Pan.
January 15-24, 2016
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Get ready for a musical experience ripped from the pages of Mo Willems’ beloved, award-winning, best-selling children’s books that will leave audiences doing the “Flippy Floppy Floory” dance all night long!
February 10-28, 2016
Studio One, Riffe Center
Pulitzer Prize winner Terrence McNally has written one of the most compelling and defining plays about the AIDS crisis and its aftermath
March 11-20, 2016
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Two hungry children. A tasty edible cottage. An evil witch.
April 6-24, 2016
Studio One, Riffe Center
Hilarity runs wild in this 2013 Tony® Award winner for Best Play as movie star Masha supports her middle-aged, single siblings whose academician parents were Chekov enthusiasts.
May 13-22, 2016
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
An illumination of the ancient theatre art form of Japanese Kabuki.
June 1-26, 2016
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Presented in collaboration with CATCO and Porthouse Theatre
“Daddy Sang Bass.” “A Boy Named Sue.” “I’ve Been Everywhere.” “Folsom Prison Blues.” The music of Johnny Cash performed by five actor/musicians explains why we do what we do.
August 26–September 4, 2016
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
Based on one of Roald Dahl’s most poignantly quirky stories, James and the Giant Peach JR. is a brand new musical take on this “masterpeach” of a tale.
September 7–25, 2016
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Imagine you’re on the set of a late-night talk show with God, who is explaining the Ten Commandments and waxing philosophical on Thomas Jefferson, J.R. Ewing, Kanye West, etc.
November 2–20, 2016
Studio Two, Riffe Center
In three short months the most celebrated playwright and wit of Victorian England, who brought us The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, plummeted from the darling of British society and the world into humiliation and ruin.
December 2–11, 2016
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
A whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets.
January 13–22, 2017
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
When the worlds of bears and people collide, everyone learns that girls and bears aren’t as ferocious as they may seem.
January 25–February 12, 2017
Studio One, Riffe Center
Sherlock Holmes and Watson take on a classic conundrum in this madcap mystery farce.
February 15–March 5, 2017
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Opposites attract when Olivia, a serious mid-career novelist and Ethan, an author of dirty books (to call them erotica would press a point) meet.
March 3–12, 2017
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Penny loves books and has just discovered a new one about cowgirls!
April 19–May 7, 2017
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Henry Ford was a complex genius. He tried to mold his son, Edsel, in his own image. The result was a family rivalry that was both cruel and tragic.
May 5–14, 2017
Columbus School for Girls
Agnes Jeffrey Shedd Theater
L.M. Montgomery’s timeless classic, cherished by generations, comes to life in a new musical.
May 31–June 18, 2017
Studio Two, Riffe Center
A Broadway classic, this fun-loving musical spans 50 years of marriage between Agnes and Michael Snow and the changes that go with it.
August 25-27, 2017
Lincoln Theatre | 769 E. Long Street
Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this sublime retelling of Star Wars in the style of the immortal Bard of Avon.
December 8-17, 2017
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
A holiday musical treat for the whole family adapted from Ludwig Bemelmans’ delightful book!
January 12-21, 2018
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
The perfect show for a family-friendly outing, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musicalis based on the beloved Caldecott Honor-winning picture book series.
March 2-11, 2018
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC | 549 Franklin Avenue
Garfield, that chubby and sarcastic tabby cat, wants to have the best birthday ever.
May 4-13, 2018
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC | 549 Franklin Avenue
Few fantasy lands have captured our hearts and imaginations as has the marvelous land of Oz!
presented by CATCO is Kids in association with McCoy Center for the Arts
July 13–15, 2018
McCoy Center for the Arts
Your favorite practically perfect nanny takes center stage in this Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious adventure based on the award-winning Broadway musical and classic Walt Disney film.
September 7-15, 2018
Lincoln Theatre
CATCO’s contribution to central Ohio’s celebration of the Harlem Renaissance. Eubie! took Broadway by storm when it premiered in 1978.
October 24–November 11, 2018
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Mathematical genius Alan Turing was a pioneer in the field of computers and computer science. His work breaking Nazi code during World War II saved countless lives, yet he plummeted into ruin after his secret life was discovered.
January 23–February 10, 2019
Studio Two, Riffe Center
A young man tries to make sense of his mother’s chronic depression.
March 20–April 7, 2019
Studio One, Riffe Center
A contemporary spin on Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, in which a group of individuals explores life’s most perplexing questions and ponders whether life really does suck.
September 13–October 1, 2017
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Fun Home—winner of five 2015 Tony® Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical—is an iconic example of the power of drama that supplants dialogue with music. It is an emotionally charged story of a young woman’s discovery of her own sexuality and her attempts to unlock the mysteries surrounding her family and gay father’s life.
November 30–December 9, 2017
Studio One, Riffe Center
CAPA, in association with CATCO, presents Deaf West Theatre’s explosively profane production of Mamet’s early play. In this acclaimed production, first performed by Los Angeles-based Deaf West in 2015, all of the characters communicate using American Sign Language. The depth of the stakes between the characters is magnified by the expressiveness of this trio of misfits.
January 31–February 18, 2018
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Regional Premiere
A heartwarming Cinderella story about a witty and winsome young woman and her mysterious benefactor, based on the treasured novel that inspired the classic 1955 film!
March 7–25, 2018
Studio One, Riffe Center
Meet Bob and Jennifer and their new neighbors, John and Pony, two suburban couples who have even more in common than their identical homes and their shared last names. As their relationships begin to irrevocably intertwine, the Joneses ponder some of life’s big questions and must decide between their idyllic fantasies and their imperfect realities.
April 11–29, 2018
Studio Two, Riffe Center
Classes clash in this hilarious, biting comedy! Frank, a midlife university lecturer and “would-be” poet, becomes the tutor for Rita, a 26-year-old hairdresser. She is determined to discover the key to happiness through intellectual pursuit; he is certain that happiness is elusive, if not impossible. Both of their lives are transformed as they discover that they are each right and wrong at the same time.
May 30–June 17, 2018
Studio One, Riffe Center
Love takes many forms—love between couples; romantic infatuation; the devotion of married people; the ties of children to their parents. This chamber musical examines all of them as it weaves a magical dream of poetic poignancy. Love Changes Everything is the theme song of this drama and “nothing in the world will ever be the same.”
May 29–June 16, 2019
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Sherlock Holmes is dead … or so it is assumed. But as Holmes’ body was never retrieved, several frauds, fakes and charlatans have since come forward to lay claim to his identity, and it falls to Dr. Watson to disprove them.
August 17–19, 2018
Lincoln Theatre
Take a journey out of the zoo and onto the stage with your favorite crack-a-lackin’ friends from the blockbuster DreamWorks film.
November 10–11, 2018
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
Join Simba, Rafiki, Pumbaa and other legendary characters for this children’s classic, featuring classic tunes, “Hakuna Matata,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Circle of Life.”
November 28–December 16, 2018
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
The crew of a Great Lakes schooner risks everything to bring the Christmas spirit to Chicago in the late 19th century. Families and kids of all ages will be touched by this heartwarming musical that reveals the real meaning of Christmas.
January 11–20, 2019
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
Grumpy landlord Mr. Sunshine likes things his own way — he especially likes quiet, or at least he thinks he does, until a less-than-perfect tenant/music teacher and her students change his life.
March 1–10, 2019
Van Fleet Theatre, CPAC
Based on the popular movie, Babe, comes Babe, The Sheep Pig: a “tail” of farmyard adventure full of heroes, villains and an adorable piglet who charms his way to success at the Grand Challenge Sheep Dog Trials.
March 23 & 24, 2019
Shedd Theatre, CPAC
Your favorite Dr. Seuss characters come to life on stage in this musical production designed specifically for young theatregoers!
May 3–12, 2019
Agnes Jeffrey Shedd Theater, Columbus School for Girls
In this captivating work of fantasy filled with magicians and fantastical talking animals, Haroun sets out on an adventure to restore the poisoned source of the Sea of Stories. Along the way, he learns about the power of storytelling, naming, and identity.
