Public showings scheduled for afternoons of April 9, 10

Gary, IN –  March 11, 2011 – Theater Northwest, the performance company of the Indiana University Northwest Department of Performing Arts, invites the community for its 29^th spring children’s production, ‘The Princess and the Pea,’ the beloved fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.

The production, geared toward elementary school children and younger, takes center stage at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10. Special viewings reserved for schools and other groups from April 1 to 15 are nearly sold out.

‘The Princess and the Pea’ is the story of a prince who wants to marry a princess but is having difficulty finding a suitable partner. Something is always wrong with those he meets, and he cannot be certain they are real princesses. One stormy night, a young woman drenched with rain seeks shelter in the prince’s castle. She claims to be a princess, so the prince’s mother decides to test their unexpected guest by placing a pea in the bed she is offered for the night, covered by layers of mattresses and featherbeds. In the morning, the guest tells her hosts that she endured a sleepless night, kept awake by something hard in the bed. The prince rejoices. Only a real princess would have the sensitivity to feel a pea through such a quantity of bedding.

The production is directed by Associate Professor Lori Montalbano, chair of Fine Arts. Montalbano said “The Princess and the Pea” is a personal favorite of hers and there have been many requests for this particular story to be brought to the Theatre Northwest stage.

The cast includes IU Northwest students Bennye Bullock, Krystyle Carlos and Pamela Wade of Gary; Talia Anderson of Hobart; Alex Hora of Munster; Lindsey Hutchins of Portage and Ashley Thompson of Whiting. Jaryn Clark of Lake Station also joins the cast as well as Phyllis Barlow of Merrillville who is the office coordinator of the IU Northwest Office of Diversity Programming.

Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased by contacting the Theatre Northwest box office at (219) 980-6810. Any remaining tickets may be purchased at the box office prior to the event.

Theatre Northwest has begun its 50^th season. A celebration recognizing this major landmark in the Theatre and IU Northwest’s history is planned for the fall of 2011.

The Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium is located in the Savannah Center on the southeast corner of the main campus parking lot at 33rd Avenue and Broadway in Gary.