Wide Open Children's Theatre

My 6-year-old daughter and I caught the opening show of Balloonacy, Wide Open Children's Theatre's 2019-2020 season opener. It was a whimsical puppet show about finding friendship and staying young at heart.

It's a wordless situational comedy about an old man who lives alone and makes a surprising new friend. It was a heart-warming story presented in a skillful and compelling way. We both loved it and discussed the play's theme and cute handmade set the entire drive home.

Balloonacy is Wide Open's adaptation of a clown show written by Barry Kornhauser for the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. It marks the first time in Wide Open's 19 years that it has brought in a script from another company.

"It has been exciting to work with a script that we know kids love, versus creating one from scratch," said Crispi Lord, Wide Open's co-creator and head puppet wrangler. "I love to look for new ways to tell stories, new twists to old stories and new skills to add to our show mix. We are as excited about the shows as the audience!"

Watch for the next show, Frosty the Snow Person, which will run December 13-15 and 19-23. Each show will be held at The Refinery Arts & Spirit Centre {609 Dufferin Avenue, Saskatoon}.

Tickets are $12 for children 1-12 years old and $17 for ages 13 and up. Infants are free.  A season pass offers a 15 percent discount off individual ticket prices and supports Wide Open throughout the year.

GIVE-AWAY CLOSED: Wide Open Children's Theatre is giving away a family pass to the showtime of your choice to one lucky Saskmom.com follower. To enter, comment below with your favourite children's story. Share another favourite children's story via Saskmom.com's post on Facebook for a second entry.