Children’s theater series kicks off at Reed Whipple

Friday, July 13, 2001 | 9:55 a.m.

Tears of Joy Theatre Company returned to Las Vegas this week to perform "Cinderella," opening the city of Las Vegas' 17th annual Children's Summer Concert Series.

The three-week concert series is an effort to inspire and introduce young children to the excitement of live performance, said Joanne Lentino, coordinator for Charleston Heights Arts Center.

Performances for the series will be held at the center on South Brush Street, as well as Reed Whipple Cultural Center on Las Vegas Boulevard North.

The series is geared toward children ages 5 and older. For many children, this will be their first experience at a live performance, Lentino said.

"It's a nice introduction because it's geared specifically for young children and it's only an hour long," she said.

"We encourage the children to be as excited and interested as they can in this," she said. If there is a witch onstage, for example, "Hooing or booing is acceptable."

The children are also introduced to proper theater etiquette and taught how to behave while at the theater, Lentino said.

Tears of Joy Theater Company, from Vancouver, Wash., which uses life-size puppets dressed in rich costumes, performs tonight at Reed Whipple Cultural Center.

Music educator Zig Wajler, from Tennessee, will present on Wednesday and Friday "Hands on with Zig," an introduction to rhythm and sounds from various countries. The program integrates music technology and multiculturalism to entertain.

State Street Ballet, of Santa Monica, Calif., concludes the series with its performance of "Alice In Wonderland."

"Part of their repertoire is doing children's performances and that's what appealed to us," Lentino said of the ballet company. An eight-member cast of dancers will perform the production based on Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

"We hope that it's educational," Lentino said of the series.

"We're so inundated with TV that it's nice (for them) to see a live performance."