CLIMB Theatre presents their Alzheimer’s Awareness play, “Grandpa and Lucy,” live at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on Thursday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m. This play is free and open to the public!
June is Alzheimer's and Brain Health Awareness Month, and CLIMB is helping spread awareness with their play, “Grandpa and Lucy,” based on the children's book by Edie Weinstein. Starting as a Girl Scout Silver Award project, Edie wrote the book as a ninth grader. CLIMB Artistic Director Anton Jones then adapted the book into CLIMB’s play version, which first toured in 2019. This play aims to help kids and parents strengthen their intergenerational relationships with older relatives who may be struggling with Alzheimer's or other forms of Dementia.
“I hope people see the ways in which a young person can be educated and comforted in the face of a grandparent moving into a form of dementia,” said Buffy Sedlachek, director of Grandpa and Lucy. “What we really want to do is be in the moment, whatever the moment is with the person who is losing their memory.”
“The play was engaging, easy to understand, and it kept the attention of all who were in the crowd,” said Sarah Moore, Director of Operations at Crown of Life Christian Academy in Fort Atkinson, who hosted the play in November 2022. “Our school appreciated the fact that a heavy topic was broken down to a kid appropriate level.”
This event is free and open to the public and is great for an intergenerational audience, ages 5 and up. To learn more about the show, visit https://tinyurl.com/grandpaandlucytour. There will be a talkback following the event.
Author Edie Weinstein returns to the cast as Edie, Lucy’s older sister and the role she originated. Rounding out the cast is local actor Bruce Rowan as Grandpa and CLIMB Resident Artist Maxine Ford as Lucy.
CLIMB Theatre is a youth-centered organization that uses theatre to teach social-emotional learning in a way that is intentionally intersectional. Based out of Inver Grove Heights, MN, the touring company brings programming to schools, libraries, and beyond across the Midwest. Their mission is to inspire and propel people towards acts that benefit themselves, others, and their community. Grandpa and Lucy is a part of their efforts to forge intergenerational connections and support young people within the community.