Harold and the Purple Crayon
Music
Andrew Bird
Choreography
Robyn Mineko Williams & Terence Marling
Costume Design
Rebecca Shouse
Lighting Design
Matt Miller
Projections & Scenery
Ryan Wineinger-Schattl
Duration
47 minutes
Premiere
Hubbard Street 2, Chicago, 2010
PNB Premiere
March 23, 2024
PNB’s 2024 premiere of Harold and the Purple Crayon is generously supported by Bob Benson, The McDade Family, Once Upon a Dance, Leslie Yamada, and The Jane Lang Davis New Works Fund.
Program Notes
One evening, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight. So begins Harold and the Purple Crayon, the first of seven delightful picture books by Crockett Johnson, following the zany adventures of an inventive young boy. As it turned out, there wasn’t any moon that night nor was there a path to walk on, so Harold simply drew them. And thus his journey began. Resourceful and brave, Harold creates the world he wants to explore, using nothing more than a big purple crayon and his sky’s-the-limit imagination. The Harold books have captivated families for more than sixty years, celebrating the imagination of children and the unique way they see the world.
Andrew
Bird
A native of the Chicago suburbs, Andrew Bird began playing violin at the age of four and graduated from Northwestern University in 1995. His career began in the 1990s with the swing band the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Bird has released sixteen studio albums, and is known for his unique violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. Bird’s album “My Finest Work Yet” received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album in 2020.