The Little Engine That Could Earns Her Whistle

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College (BCBC) opens its 2013-2014
Target Storybook Series with ArtsPower National Touring Theatre’s The
Little Engine That Could™ Earns Her Whistle on Sunday, November 17,
2013 at 2pm.  All tickets are $7 and can
be purchased by phone at 718-951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm), or online at www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org. The
performance is recommended for ages four and up.

Believing that anything is
possible, believing that magic can be found anywhere, and above all believing
in oneself are all lessons to be found in this new musical version of Watty
Piper’s timeless tale of Little Blue, a pint-sized engine who dreams of someday
leaving the train yard to pull the Piney Vale Express.  Featuring a dynamic score by Richard DeRosa,
entertaining lyrics and book by ArtsPower’s artistic director Greg Gunning, and
colorful, inventive sets and costumes, the show celebrates the extraordinary
strength of “I think I can!”

“For many children, The Little Engine That Could™ Earns Her
Whistle may be the first stage production they ever see,” says ArtsPower’s
executive producer Gary Blackman.  “Our
goal is not only to teach them valuable lessons about self-reliance, but also
to instill in them a genuine love of theatre.”

ArtsPower’s twofold mission
is to provide young people, many for the very first time, with the
unforgettable opportunity to experience the transporting power of outstanding
theater that entertains, stimulates, and educates; and to enhance “character
education” among young people by creating theater that fosters sound moral
development, encourages self-expression, ignites the desire to read, and
advances their development as productive members of society.  Celebrating their 28th anniversary in 2013,
ArtsPower is one of America’s preeminent nonprofit producers and presenters of
professional theater for young and family audiences.  With over 750 performances annually, the
company has amassed an audience of more then 12 million people in 47 states.

About the Target Storybook Series

The centerpiece of BCBC’s
2013-2014 family programming, the Target Storybook Series features performances
based on classic and contemporary children’s literature and aims to encourage
the development of strong reading skills at home in children ages four to
eight.  Each performance is accompanied
by a Parents’ Guide, with literacy-based activity sheets, reading tips, and
discussion topics, giving parents the opportunity to engage their children both
pre- and post-performance. 

Other titles in the
2013-2014 Target Storybook Series include Theaterworks USA’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No
Good, Very Bad Day; Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia’s A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric
Carle; and American Family Theater’s
The Wizard of Oz.  All seats for
BCBC’s 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series are $7-$10.  Parents’ Guides can be downloaded at
www.BrooklynCenterOnline.org/Target_Storybook.asp.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts’ 2013-2014 Target Storybook Series is sponsored by
Target.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College

2/5 trains to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org

Box Office: (718) 951-4500 (Tues-Sat, 1pm-6pm)

Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 3331

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts

Founded in 1954, Brooklyn
Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College presents outstanding
performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn’s diverse
communities, at affordable prices.  Each
season, Brooklyn Center welcomes over 65,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt
Whitman Theatre, including up to 45,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools
who attend their SchoolTime series, one of the largest arts-in-education
programs in the borough.  In 2014-2015,
Brooklyn Center will celebrate its 60th anniversary season, which will
correspond with the opening of the new Leonard and Claire Tow Center for the Performing
Arts at Brooklyn College.

In recognition of its
commitment to quality family programming, Brooklyn Center for the Performing
Arts has been recognized as both Brooklyn’s
Best Theater or Theater Group for Kids and Brooklyn’s Best Place for Family Bonding by Nickelodeon’s
ParentsConnect Parents’ Picks Awards. 

About Target

Minneapolis-based Target
Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1832 stores – 1,784 in the United
States and 48 in Canada – and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent
of its profit through community grants and programs; today, that giving equals
more than $4 million a week. For more information about Target’s commitment to
corporate responsibility, visit Target.com/corporateresponsibility.

Brooklyn Center for the
Performing Arts’ programs are supported, in part, by public funding from the
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City
Council.  Major support for the 2013-2014
season is provided by: Brooklyn College; Target; Con Edison; TD Bank; National
Grid; Macy’s Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; TD Charitable Foundation;
the Herman Goldman Foundation; and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.  Additional support provided by CNG Publications
and The Brooklyn Eagle.  The Sheraton
Brooklyn New York Hotel is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center’s 2013-2014
season.  Backstage catering is graciously
provided by Applebee’s.

Brooklyn Center for the
Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges generous support from New York State
Assemblywomen Rhoda Jacobs and Helene E. Weinstein, New York City Councilman
Albert Vann and the Department of Youth & Community Development, New York
City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs
Kate Levin.