All the animals in the jungle know their own special dance, but Gerald the Giraffe can't seem to move without a clumsy step. But with the help of a wise cricket, he finds his own song, and dances to the beat of his own drum! In this stage adaptation of the beloved children's book, with puppets, African rhythm, and lots of dancing, Gerald learns that his differences are what make him special.
Creative Team
GLORIA BOND CLUNIE is an award-winning playwright, educator, and director. She is a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Chicago’s Regional Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater where her plays North Star, Living Green and Shoes premiered and the founding Artistic Director of Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Other works by this Northwestern University graduate (B.A. Theater, MFA-Directing) include Sweet Water Taste, Smoke, Quark, Buck Naked, Bankruptcy, Tall Enough, A Shot#LoveStories inspired by Black Lives Matter, My Wonderful Birthday Suit and The Last Stop on Market Street. This Dramatist Guild Fellow has numerous awards including a Chicago Jeff, Theodore Ward African-American Playwriting Prizes, NEA and Illinois Arts Council Fellowships, the CTFA Medallion Award and the Evanston Mayor’s Award for the Arts. Currently, fueled by her love of Chicago architecture, she is working on the musical SKY which was begun at California’s Djerassi Resident Artists Program and is thrilled three new works - Giraffes Can’t Dance—The Musical (commissioned by Rose Theatre, Omaha & Bay Area Children’s Theatre), her adaptation of The Hula Hoopin’ Queen (commissioned by Childsplay & Imagination Stage), and The Poppy (The Theatre School, DePaul University) – all premiere in the spring of 2023!
LEELA OLESZKIEWICZ
Composer, songwriter, and vocalist Leela Oleszkiewicz has been a performer since the age of five. Her work as a vocalist has ranged from classical art songs, Polish folk music, and ’70s singer-songwriter jams. She is half of synth-pop duo Basetla, who released their debut album Woman on The Run in 2021.
Leela has contributed her piano, composition, and vocal arranging/editing skills to a wide range of theater projects, including Twelfth Night (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Red Oleanders (UC Riverside), Pride & Prejudice (Shakespeare Santa Cruz), Gather ‘Round (Saint Mary’s College of California), Ti-Jean & His Brothers (ACT), How to Transcend a Happy Marriage (Custom Made Theater) and Wives (Aurora Theater). Besides also having worked in film (the documentary A Place to Breathe), HBO's The Anarchists, and musicals (Covid: The Musical), she was the primary composer for South Coast Repertory's 2022 production of Greg Banks' Snow White.
ELTON BRADMAN
Everett Elton Bradman is a composer/sound designer whose 2022-2023 credits include world premieres (Lear at Cal Shakes, A Distinct Society at Pioneer and TheatreWorks, and Mindplay at the Geffen Playhouse), six plays for Oakland Theater Project, as well as productions at Z Space, South Coast Rep, UC Riverside, Pioneer, Theaterworks, Aurora, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Stop by and say hello at eltonsounds.com!
RECOMMENDED AUDIENCES
PUBLIC AUDIENCES: Ages 3-8
SCHOOL TIME AUDIENCE: Ages 3-8; Grades Pre-K-2
Giraffes Can't Dance celebrated its' 20th Anniversary in 2018 with over 4 million books in print.
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