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Argyle Theatre visits kids at Good Samaritan, announces hospital partnership

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The yellow-brick road led Dorothy, Glinda, Scarecrow and The Cowardly Lion  to the pediatric wing of Good Samaritan Hospital on Friday.

The characters, all cast from within the Argyle Theatre’s new Children’s Theatre Program, were spreading smiles and giving away tickets to their first children’s production, “The Wizard of Oz.”

The show opens this Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

“We are very excited about having them come to the theatre,” said Kate Keating, the theatre’s director of education, who plays Dorothy.

“Our show is geared toward families,” said Keating. “After the show, everyone can meet the cast for autographs and pictures.”

Dorothy saying hello to a smiling patient.

During the play, toddlers are allowed to sit on their parents laps.

The new Children Theatre Program is being sponsored by Good Samaritan Hospital. According to the theatre, the partnership allows the theatrical center to host children’s classes, shows, summer programs and field trips.

“We want to be able to bring a school district that couldn’t come to the theatre to come down.” said the theatre’s director of sales, Marty Rubin. “We want everyone to experience the Argyle Theatre. and this gives us the opportunity to do that together.”

And this is just the beginning for what’s to come from the theatre, which opened just six months ago.

“We want to continue to do good things in the community and the support from groups like Good Samaritan enables us to do that,” said Dylan Perlman, an Argyle Theatre co-owner.

During Friday’s visit, the characters were singing, dancing, and high-fiving patients, which helped lighten the mood and raise morale at the hospital, says Kate Fenton, Good Sam’s director of child life.

“Our community visitors are so well-received and respected,” she said. “The children’s faces lit up when they were in a room that was kind of tense with a lot of emotion. We can’t say enough how much we enjoy and look forward to visits from our community, and especially the characters.”

The touching moments shared between the patients and the characters were felt on both sides.

“It is amazing how recognizable characters impact people,” said Mark Perlman, another theatre co-owner, and Dylan’s dad.  “They saw these familiar characters and their faces lit up, it’s so heartwarming.”

Scroll down to see more photos from the day.

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Children Theatre’s lineup

The Wizard of Oz will be running from Sept. 22 until Oct. 21.

After that, Harry Connick, Jr’s The Happy Elf will play from Nov. 17 to Dec. 30.

You can buy tickets here.

Peter and the Starcatcher

In addition to the children’s show, the Argyle Theatre’s mainstage production is the origin story of Peter Pan in “Peter and the Starcatcher.” To learn more about the show, click here.

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