Giraffes Can’t Dance
January 23 - February 22, 2026
Book & Lyrics by Gloria Clunie
Music by Elton Bradman & Lila Oleszkiewicz
Based on the book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker – Rees
Directed by Kymani Kahlil
Let the music find you this winter!
Gerald the giraffe dreams of dancing but with his skinny legs and knobbly knees he has trouble even walking! When dancers from around the world travel to come to his home on the breathtaking West African Savanna for the “Annual Jungle Dance” his friend cricket comes to the rescue to help him realize his dream. Animal antics, dazzling music, and dances from across the globe make this heartwarming tale of friendship a musical for all ages.
Recommended for: All Ages
Location: Mainstage Theatre
Show Run Time: 60 Minutes
Resource Guide: Coming soon!
A collaboration with:
Based on the book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. Published by Hachette Children’s Group © Purple Enterprises Limited, a Coolabi Group Company. Originally commissioned by Bay Area
Children’s Theater & The Rose (Omaha Theater Company).
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Videos
Learn more about the show
Photos
Publicity Photos by Amy Rondeau Photography
Music
Preview songs from the show!
The Cast
Check back closer to Opening Night for a complete list!
The Creative Team
- DIRECTOR – Kymani Queen
- CHOREOGRAPHER – Malia Craft
- MUSIC DIRECTOR – JC Lippold
- FOUNDER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THREADS DANCE PROJECT – Karen L. Charles
- BOOK AND LYRICS – Gloria Clunie
- MUSIC – Elton Bradman
- MUSIC – Leela Oleszkiewicz
- AUTHOR – Giles Andreae
- AUTHOR – Guy Parker-Rees
Check back closer to Opening Night for a complete list!
Creative Team Bios
Kymani Kahlil
Director
Kymani (Key- MA- nee) is a Twin-Cities based multi-disciplinary generative theater artist. “I’m so delighted to be directing my first production at Stages Theater!”. Kymani has worked with regional theaters and public schools throughout the Twin Cities and out-state Minnesota teaching residencies and leading workshops in theater creation, and serving as a director, performer, musician, composer, and choreographer. She is currently developing part three of her one-person show “Pickles & Peaches: Thou Art Beautifully & Wonderfully Made”, a collection of stories and songs exploring Identity, Connection and Belonging.
Malia Craft
Choreographer
Malia Craft attended the University of Georgia, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, with a minor in exercise and sports science, and a certificate in K-12 dance education. Malia is a current company member with Threads Dance Project, Rhythmically Speaking Dance and Concerto Dance. Aside from training and performing, Malia has a love of working with dancers and has taught, as well as choreographed, for several studios and dance teams throughout Georgia and Minnesota.
JC Lippold
Music Director
JC Lippold constructs space for others to be curious and courageous in as a nationally renowned teacher of movement and mindset, a community engager and social movement trailblazer, a published writer, researcher and systems changer, a theatre director and gigging rock musician, and as a leadership, change and executive presence coach. JC is the Artistic Director of Minnesota’s premier senior rock ensemble Alive & Kickin and is grateful to be working on his 18th Stages Theatre Company Production.
Karen L. Charles
Founder and Artistic Director of Threads Dance Project
Karen L. Charles is the Founder and Artistic Director of Threads Dance Project, a Minneapolis-based contemporary dance company that explores human connection through movement.
Originally from Atlanta, Karen trained at the Atlanta Ballet and North Carolina School of the Arts, earning degrees in Ballet, Computer Science, and Educational Administration. Her performance career includes work with dance companies in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, New York and Atlanta.
In 2010, she launched Threads Dance Project to tell socially conscious stories through dance, often reflecting her experience as an African-American woman from the South. Her choreography focuses on “human justice,” aiming to spark dialogue and build community.
Karen has also served as a principal at performing arts schools and is a leader in national arts organizations, continuing to champion equity and education in the dance world.
Gloria Clunie
Book and Lyrics
Gloria Bond Clunie is an award-winning playwright, educator, and director. She is a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Chicago’s Regional Tony Award-winning Victory Gardens Theater where her plays North Star, Living Green, and Shoes premiered and the founding Artistic Director of Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Other works by this Northwestern University graduate (B.A. Theater, MFA-Directing) include Sweet Water Taste, Smoke, Quark, Bankruptcy, My Wonderful Birthday Suit, and The Last Stop on Market Street.
Elton Bradman
Music
Everett Elton Bradman’s 2021-2022 composer/sound designer credits include West Coast premieres (Trayf at the Geffen Playhouse), audio dramas (Aurora Theater’s The Bluest Eye), student productions (UC Riverside’s Red Oleanders), Zoom theater (Actors Theaters’ Romeo & Juliet: Louisville 2020), podcasts (Z Space/Word for Word’s Retablos trilogy), filmed theater (San Francisco Playhouse’s Hieroglyph), hybrid visual/audio (New Conservatory Theater Company’s Interlude), and outdoor performances (Oakland Theater Project’s The Waste Land). Other recent adventures include teaching an online undergraduate course in theatrical sound design and co-writing a musical for Bay Area Children’s Theater and the Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska. Stop by and say hello at eltonsounds.com.
Leela Oleszkiewicz
Music
Leela Oleszkiewicz Composer, songwriter, and vocalist Leela Oleszkiewicz has been a performer since the age of five. Her work as a vocalist has ranged from classical art songs, Polish folk music, and ’70s singer-songwriter jams. She is half of synth-pop duo Basetla, who released their debut album Woman on The Run in 2021. Leela has contributed her piano, composition, and vocal arranging/editing skills to a wide range of projects, including (from Twelfth Night at Oregon Shakespeare Festival to Wives at Aurora Theater), film (the documentary A Place to Breathe), TV (HBO’s The Anarchists), and musicals (Covid: The Musical). Leela was the primary composer for South Coast Repertory’s 2022 production of Greg Banks’ Snow White.
Giles Andreae
Author
Giles Andreae is an award-winning children’s author and has written both fiction titles and bestselling picture books, such as Pants and The Lion Who Wanted to Love. He has won the Federation of Children’s Book Award and the Booktrust Early Years Award, but he is probably most famous as the creator of the phenomenally successful Purple Ronnie, Britain’s favourite stick man. Giles Andreae is the author of several children’s books, including the best-selling Giraffes Can’t Dance, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees.
Guy Parker-Rees
Author
Guy Parker-Rees is an internationally best-selling illustrator and author of the Dylan series of books (including DYLAN THE DOCTOR) currently made into an international animation series. He has illustrated many bestselling books, including GIRAFFES CAN’T DANCE and BRAVE DAVE by Giles Andreae; SPOOKYRUMPUS, DINOSAURUMPUS!, and ALL AFLOAT ON NOAH’S BOAT by Tony Mitton and many others. He lives in Brighton, England.
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