It’s an annual holiday tradition! PlayMakers Laboratory’s is pleased to welcome back its original sketch show That’s Weird, Grandma: A Holiday Spectacular! This family-friendly comedy extravaganza returns for one weekend only from December 12 – 15, 2024 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Tickets ($25 adults, $15 youth) go on sale Friday, November 1, 2024 at www.playmakerslab.org.
Directed by Executive Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, That’s Weird, Grandma features adaptations of stories written during PML’s creative writing residencies in Chicago elementary schools. PML’s ensemble of professional actors, comedians and musicians bring the young authors’ stories to life as raucous sketches, songs and movement pieces, performing first for students in their schools and then for the public. These stories – from hilarious dialogues between unlikely characters to poignant pleas for social change, along with some classic holiday stories – that resonate with adults while celebrating the imaginations of young people.
Since PlayMakers Laboratory’s inception in 1997 as Barrel of Monkeys, its teaching artists have served more than 75 Chicago Public Schools. Over 29,000 elementary school students have participated in the PlayMakers programs, which aim to build students’ writing skills, improve self-esteem, and instill confidence in their ideas and abilities.