“24th STreet is not a place to see another Saturday morning Snow White; it’s a place for ground-breaking theatre that takes kids along for the ride.”
Sophisticated Theatre For the Whole Family
24th STreet Theatre has distinguished itself as one of the leaders in sophisticated children’s theatre today, creating and presenting plays for kids and parents to experience together. And we do it in a unique style that appeals to adults and children alike. And that is by design, not accident.
“This kind of theatre is rarely available to families in this country. We live in a culture that doesn’t believe in challenging kids emotionally,” says co-founder and Executive Director Jay McAdams.
Artistic Director and co-founder, Debbie Devine, elaborates, “Our logic is that if kids are introduced to cutting-edge theatre in childhood, then they’ll become theatregoers as adults…If it bores adults, then it’s not good enough for kids either.”
24th STreet shows have toured to Central and South America, and have won local and national awards. In 2015, with the culmination of their national tour of the award-winning Walking the Tightrope at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, 24th STreet Theatre co-hosted an international industry conference on the role and status of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA).
“You can tell when a theatre company cares about its audience, especially when that audience is largely made up of young people. It doesn’t talk down to them and it doesn’t assume they will only understand the obvious. Instead, its directors take the time to seek out WORK THAT IS WORTHY OF ENGAGEMENT, PROVOKES THOUGHTS, AND GIVES MORE TO THE WORLD THAN IT TAKES. It serves both the child and the child in the adult. And that’s what 24th STreet Theatre has done.”
“24TH STREET THEATRE HAS DISTINGUISHED ITSELF by staging plays that have something to say to children and adults alike.”
“... as poignant to an 8-year old as an 80-year old - just in very different ways.”
“It’s all very well to boast of the ability to deliver a product that can challenge the gray cells of audiences both young and adult. Kudos and laurels, certainly, to the 24th Street Theater not only for building that pledge into the company’s mission, but FOR CONSISTENTLY DELIVERING THE CREATIVE GOODS.”
“A LOCAL GEM that finds a way to encapsulate the IMPORTANT ISSUES of the day using universal themes that appeal to all ages without an assumption that diluting the message is necessary to impact YOUNG AUDIENCES.”
24th STreet Theatre was a 2016 finalist for the Mommy Poppins "Best Place to See a Family Show" award!