HAVE YOU HERE.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, ERIC AND CATHY, APPRECIATE IT.

>> Cathy: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.

>> CATHY: THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY'S LONGTIME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PETER BROSIUS IS SET TO DEPART AT THE END OF THIS MONTH AFTER HIS FINAL PRODUCTION OF "A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD" THIS PAST SUNDAY.

TWIN CITIES PBS PRODUCER MIRANDA HARINCAR SAT DOWN WITH BROSIUS RECENTLY TO TALK ABOUT HIS LONG CAREER AT CTC AND HIS DEPARTURE.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

♪ I THINK OF THE REASONS I HAVE TO BE HAPPY ♪ >> THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY IS CURRENTLY SHOWING THEIR TONY AWARD NOMINATED PRODUCTION OF A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD, "IT IS UNIQUE, IT'S THE FINAL SHOW PUT ON BY THE LONGTIME DIRECTOR.

>> YOU FINISHED THE LAST TECH REHEARSAL, YOU'VE GONE THROUGH THE PREVIEWS, OH, YOU WISH THEM WELL, TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER, DELIGHT THE AUDIENCE, HAVE A GLORIOUS TIME.

OH, THIS IS HARD.

THIS IS THE LAST ONE OF THESE I'LL DO.

>> A FITTING BOOK END TO HIS TIME AS DIRECTOR, THE PRODUCTION OF FROG AND TOAD BROUGHT THIS TWIN CITIES THEATRE COMPANY TO THE NATIONAL STAGE.

>> ONE, IT WAS A JOY WHEN I RECEIVED THE SCRIPT.

THEN TO WATCH THAT SHOW OPEN HERE WITH THIS REMARKABLE CAST, GO TO THE NEW VICTORY AT 42nd, BROADWAY, THEN GET NOMINATED FOR THREE TONY AWARDS, BEST BOOK, BEST SCORE, BEST MUSICAL, THE SAME YEAR THAT THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY WON THE TONY AWARD FOR SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE IN A REGIONAL THEATER, THAT WAS A PRETTY REMARKABLE YEAR.

TO TAKE THIS PIECE, PRODUCE IT REALLY WELL, A PIECE ABOUT THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP AND NOW TO MY GREAT DELIGHT, IS BEING DONE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

AND IT STARTED RIGHT HERE ON THIS STAGE WITH THE SET RIGHT BEHIND ME.

>> WHEN HE TOOK OVER THE THEATER IN 1997, THE ORGANIZATION HAD BEEN ENMESHED IN SCANDAL DAL.

HE COMMENTED ON WHAT IT TOOK TO CREATE A NEW REPUTATION FOR THE COMPANY AND A PLACE WITHIN THE TWIN CITIES COMMUNITY.

>> I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A GREAT PLEASURE AND HONOR TO MOVE TO A COMMUNITY THAT VALUED THEATER SO MUCH AND VALUED THE ARTS AND VALUED YOUNG PEOPLE.

I THINK THE FIRST YEAR I WAS HERE, THEY WERE INTERVIEWING FOR A NEW SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS FOR HE MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND IT WAS THE WHOLE INTERVIEW WAS BROADCAST ON THE RADIO.

AND I WAS LIKE, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT.

OH, MY GOD, THIS MATTERS THAT MUCH.

THIS COMMUNITY IS SO INVESTED IN EDUCATION.

WE HAVE HAD FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS PROFOUND COMMITMENT TO REPRESENTATION, TO INCLUSION, TO MAKE SURE ALL VOICES ARE HEARD.

TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PANOPLY AND GORGEOUS MOSAIC OF THIS NATION AND THIS PLANET ARE ON THIS STAGE.

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVED DEARLY ABOUT THIS PLACE IS HOW DEEPLY THIS STAFF, HE ARTISTS WHO WORK HERE, THE BOARD, THIS COMMUNITY CARES ABOUT THAT MISSION.

>> IN APPRECIATION FOR HIS COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY, ON THE OPENING NIGHT OF THE SHOW, HE WAS IN FOR A SURPRISE AS THE MAYORS FROM MINNEAPOLIS AND EDINA AND A REPRESENTATIVE FOR GOVERNOR WALZ TOOK THE STAGE AT THE OPENING DINNER.

>> FOR SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARTS, TO OUR COMMUNITY, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM SATURDAY, APRIL 27th, 2024, AS PETER C.BROSIUS DAY IN THE STATE OF MINNESOTA.

[ Cheers and applause ] >> THE INAL PRODUCTION HIT ROADBLOCKS AS THEIR LEAD ACTOR DECIDED TO LEAVE THE PRODUCTION PRIOR TO OPENING NIGHT.

THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE SAID THEY CANNOT COMMENT ON THE STAFFING OR THE CHANGE TO THE CAST.

BUT HE'S LEAVING THE THEATER OPTIMISTIC AND SAYS, LOOKING AHEAD, THERE'S MUCH IN STORE FOR THE CTC.

>> THERE'S A NEW TEAM COMING IN.

I HOPE I GET DELICIOUSLY SURPRISED BY NEW WORK, NEW INITIATIVES, NEW WAYS OF WORKING.

YOU KNOW, I'M HUGELY EXCITED BY THE WORK THAT OUR BRILLIANT ANN JOSEPH DOUGLAS, HEAD OF EDUCATION, HAS LED IN WORKING WITH THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, NEAR NORTH, ABOUT TRYING AN ARTS IMMERSION SORT OF PROGRAM WHERE 100% OF THOSE KIDS ARE INVOLVED IN ARTS CTIVITIES.

THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT'S IN THE HOPPER THAT IS PART OF A WONDERFUL PARTNERSHIP CALLED GENERATION NOW, WHICH IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN CTC AND PENUMBRA AND LATINO THEATER COMPANY, MYA THEATER COMPANY AND NATIVE VOICES, LEADING CULTURALLY SPECIFIC THEATERS TO GENERATE NEW WORK BY BIPoC AUTHORS FOR MULTIGENERATIONAL AUDIENCES.

WE'RE DOING THE FIRST OF THOSE NEXT YEAR, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL OF THOSE PIECES HAVING A LIFE, NOT JUST HERE AND AT OUR PARTNER THEATER, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

>> EVEN AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS OF PRODUCTION, HE SAYS HE IS STILL LEARNING LESSONS FROM FROG AND TOAD.

>> BE KIND TO HE PEOPLE THAT YOU TOUCH.

IN YOUR LIFE.

BE KIND TO ALL THOSE.

AND EMBRACE THOSE WHO ARE RADICALLY DIFFERENT.

THERE'S SO MUCH TO LEARN.

YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH TO LEARN FROM THOSE WHO ARE SO UTTERLY DIFFERENT OR SOMETIMES IMPOSSIBLE, BUT THERE'S GIFTS, IF YOU OPEN YOUR HEART.

♪ FROG IS THE FROG ♪ ♪ TOAD IS A TOAD ♪ ♪ OF MY DREAM