Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is pleased to announce the performers and creative team for Cookin’ (also known as Nanta ๋ํ) the international smash-hit sensation from South Korea that will be playing at CTC in the fall of 2023. The Minneapolis premiere engagement of Cookin’ at CTC is the production’s only Midwest stop in 2023-2024 touring season.
With a crazy deadline looming near, four frenzied chefs turn their kitchen into a dynamic, veggies-flying-everywhere performance as Korean samulnori drumming and martial arts take center stage. During this wildly energetic cooking competition, the chefs put on a masterful display of percussive food chopping, knife throwing, pot banging, and fire-blowing wizardry that will make you laugh, scream in delight, and even beg for a chance to sample their food. Get ready to stomp your feet and clap your hands for a show that’s truly Cookin’!
Cookin' is the longest-running show in South Korea’s history (over 1.48 million people have attended performances), and has performed in more than 60 countries throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
"Music, mayhem and magic are only a few of the ingredients in the savory stew of skillful, high-energy, silly good fun." - The New York Times
"A big hit! Spectacular!" - Newsweek
"Call it Benihana goes berserk. Take equal parts of Jackie Chan, The Marx Brothers, and Stomp — and blend." - CBS Sunday Morning
Cookin’ will play from September 12-October 22, 2023 at CTC’s UnitedHealth Group Stage (2400 Third Avenue South Minneapolis MN 55404). Opening Night is Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7:00pm. Tickets may be purchased online at childrenstheatre.org/cookin or by calling the Ticket Office at 612.874.0400. Ticket prices start at $15.
Cookin’ is proudly sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“We are thrilled to bring the international sensation Cookin’ to our audiences in Minnesota,” said CTC Artistic Director Peter C. Brosius. “This dynamic and hilarious show has delighted audiences around the world with its virtuosic percussion, incredible comedy and amazing physicality. We cannot wait for you to experience the joy and exuberance of Cookin’!"
“I can’t wait to meet the audience in Minnesota at a prestigious theatre like Children’s Theatre Company,” said Cookin’ Director Seung-Whan Song. “I hope you will feel the freedom from the unique rhythm of Korea and, through the comedy on stage, also feel the great pleasure of getting away from your daily life.”
The performers for Cookin’ are Ho Yeoul Sul, Changhwan Ko, Min Goo Jung, Hyejin Song, and Jung Hwan Hyun. Dong Keun Lee and Kyuna Kim are the understudies.
The creative team for Cookin’ includes Seung-Whan Song (Artistic Director/Producer), Kwangho Lee (Producer), Dong Jun Lee (Composer), Kicheol Cho (Percussion Director), Oksoon Kang (Choreographer), Dongwoo Park (Scenic Designer), Sookjin Seo (Scenic Designer), Jonghwa Park (Lighting Designer), Yunyoung Koo (Lighting Designer), Kiyoung Kim (Sound Designer), Heeju Kim (Costume Designer), Kyewhan Park (Martial Arts), Jungwoo Kim (Magic Tricks), Yosub Choi (Cooking Skills), Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Creative Consultant), and Cheol Ki Choi (Associate Director).
The production staff for Cookin’ includes Young Eun Park (Production Supervisor), Daehui Yun (Technical Director/Stage Manager), Hoon Young Kim (Lighting Director), and Hyuna Park (Sound Director).
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to Cookin’ may be purchased online at childrenstheatre.org/cookin or by calling the ticket office at 612.874.0400. Ticket prices start at $15.
School groups interested in attending Cookin’ can contact schools@childrenstheatre.org for more information.
Cookin’ has a run time of 90 minutes with no intermission.
This production is best enjoyed all ages. Lap passes are available for children 3 years and younger.
Cookin’
a sizzling entertainment
Produced by PMC Production Co. and Broadway Asia Company
Directed by Seung-Whan Song
September 12-October 22, 2023
UnitedHealth Group Stage
Best enjoyed by all ages!
Broadway Asia Company, LLC is among the largest production, management, and distribution companies of live entertainment throughout the global markets with focus in New York, London, Europe and Asia. Its founders, Simone Genatt and Marc Routh, are two of the most active commercial Broadway and West End producers. Over the last 25 years, theatrical productions by the Broadway International Group partners have performed in over 400 cities, 60 countries, and garnered over 56 Tony, Olivier, Grammy Awards and many other global theatrical accolades. Select live entertainment productions and attractions include: An American in Paris, The Sound of Music, Back to the Future, The Producers, Hairspray, Anastasia, Amelie, Legally Blonde, The Great Comet, Stomp, COOKIN/NANTA, Shear Madness, The Addams Family, Nice Work If You Can Get It, The King and I, Cinderella, West Side Story, 42nd Street, Rock of Ages, Immersive Great Gatsby, Immersive Doctor Who, Neverland, the Peter Pan Immersive, Murder Ballad, Tape Face, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, Little Shop of Horrors, Jay Chou's THE SECRET, Manual Cinema, ICE AGE LIVE: A Mammoth Adventure, SpongeBob SquarePants Live, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Madagascar Live, Fuerzabruta and many more. Select forthcoming productions and attractions include: Immersive Great Gatsby in New York at the Gatsby Mansion and multiple Asian territories, Anastasia and Beetlejuice in Japan, Marilyn Monroe Hollywood Experience: The Global Tour, and Journey, an immersive technology dining attraction in New York.
Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is the nation’s largest and most acclaimed theatre for young people and serves a multigenerational audience. It creates theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire for more than 250,000 people annually. CTC is the only theatre focused on young audiences to win the coveted Tony Award® for regional theatre and is the only theatre in Minnesota to receive three Tony® nominations (for its production of A Year with Frog and Toad). CTC is committed to creating world-class productions at the highest level and to developing new works, more than 200 to date, dramatically changing the canon of work for young audiences.
CTC’s engagement and learning programs annually serve more than 93,000 young people and their communities through Theatre Arts Training, student matinees, Neighborhood Bridges, and early childhood arts education programs. ACT One is CTC’s comprehensive platform for access, diversity, and inclusion in our audiences, programs, staff, and board that strives to ensure the theatre is a home for all people, all families, reflective of our community. childrenstheatre.org
