between us
“We’ll be friends forever, won’t we, Pooh?” asked Piglet. “Even longer,” Pooh answered. It’s very nice to go traveling, but it’s oh so nice to come home! After spending a year on the road, there’s something comforting about coming back to the place we’ve called home for the past 50 years. To triumphantly return to the Woodruff campus, battletested from the itinerant adventure, and gifted with scores of new friends we met along the way, from every part of our glorious city. So, why not celebrate this homecoming by contemplating the very spirit of friendship in the company of our nearest and dearest? It seems entirely fitting, perhaps even fated, that we’re beginning our 50th anniversary season with such a dear old friend, the truth-telling sage, Winnie-the-Pooh. He has been captivating our imaginations and influencing our behavior for generations. Yes, he’s that sort of bear. It was Pooh who taught us to sing through the riddles of life, to glimpse eternity by fully embracing the present. It was Pooh who taught us to love your friends not because they’ve earned your love but simply because they’re your friends. It’s Pooh who still reminds me daily that silence can be fruitful, and simplicity, profound. That same sage teddy bear encourages me to contemplate the unanswerable questions, to find meaning in the asking and fulfillment in the wonder. These are eternal truths. No less relevant today than when I first encountered them as a child or when A.A. Milne first wrote them in 1926. So, who better to usher us into the next 50 years of telling truths and captivating our audiences’ collective imagination? In addition to kicking off our milestone season, this show marks our fourth annual collaboration with our friends at the High Museum of Art, in which we join forces to celebrate children’s picture book art. Running concurrently with our show is the stunning exhibition Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic, which gives us the rare opportunity to experience E.H. Shepard’s original illustrations. Those beautifully elegant images — so simple yet so emotionally resonant — inspired every element of our production from the delicate direction to the sophisticated design. What a joy to welcome you to the Hundred Acre Wood as we launch this special season. We look forward to spending the next 50 years together. Or even longer. Christopher Moses Dan Reardon Director of Education & Associate Artistic Director
ENCORE ATLANTA | ATLANTA’S PERFORMING ARTS PUBLICATION | ENCOREATLANTA.COM
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