The Oswego Players and the Oswego Opera Theater team up to bring a special double feature of magical realism, fairytale drama and talking animals. “The Arkansaw Bear” and “Brundibár” will be presented together at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 7, at the Frances Marion Brown Theater, Barbara Donahue Drive, Oswego.

“The Oswego Players has a long history of camaraderie with Oswego Opera Theater,” said Oswego Players President Norman Berlin III. “We have both been very generous to one another with sharing resources over the years, so to combine forces and create a new kind of event together felt like the next natural step in our relationship.”

The Oswego Player’s production of “The Arkansaw Bear” will be the first presentation. This children’s classic by Aurand Harris is the story of a young girl upset over her grandfather’s illness. As she runs to her ‘special tree’ (a 12-foot-tall set piece which has been expertly constructed by scenic designer Adele Cronk), she meets the World’s Greatest Dancing Bear. This bear is elderly, like her grandfather, and on the run from the cryptic Great Ringmaster. The girl and the bear become fast friends and help one another to understand the nature of life and death. Between such heavy topics, there is plenty of dance, song and card tricks. “The Arkansaw Bear” is directed by Norman Berlin III and presented by special arrangement with The Dramatic Publishing Company of Woodstock, Illinois.

The second show of this double feature comes from the Oswego Opera Theater. Hans Krása’s children’s opera, “Brundibár” is directed by Juan La Manna. It tells the tale of two siblings who sing in the town square to buy milk for their sick mother. There, the title character, a competing busker, chases away the siblings so he can have the square for himself. The children recruit the aid of a variety of animals to help thwart this bully from taking over. “Brundibár” was performed over 50 times in the Terezín concentration camp located in German-occupied Czechoslovakia and is considered to be of great historical importance.

For more information on either of these performances or to purchase tickets, visit https://oswegoplayers.org/ or call the Oswego Players’ box office at 315-343-5138.

OSWEGO PLAYERS AND OSWEGO OPERA THEATER OFFER DOUBLE BILL – Two community theater groups partner to present two children’s productions at the Frances Marion Brown Theater, Barbara Donahue Drive, Oswego. The double feature of “The Arkansaw Bear” and “Brundibár” begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 7. Pictured are Stephanie Johnson as the World’s Greatest Dancing Bear, Mallory Gordon as Little Bear, Nine King as Tish and Lilith Pape asThe Mime surrounding Richard Carpenter as the Great Ringmaster. For more information on either of these performances or to purchase tickets, visit https://oswegoplayers.org/ or call the Oswego Players’ box office at 315-343-5138.