Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Location

345 Washington St
Saint Paul, MN 55102
http://www.ordway.org
Both individual homeschool families and homeschool groups may purchase school-rate discounted tickets to student matinees, affordable one-hour weekday performances representing a global spectrum of cultural art forms and designed for students in grades K-12.

[School Performances] [Getting There]

This theater in St Paul hosts a wide variety of plays, musicals and other performances. Homeschool families are welcome at the highly affordable one-hour school performances.  

The Ordway is also home to the Flint Hills International Children's Festival, held every summer.

School Performances

Registration: To order tickets, please call the Education Hotline at 651-282-3115. Performances are open to both individual homeschool families and homeschool groups.

Presale: The season Pre-Sale begins at in mid May of each year and is your first and best chance to reserve tickets to the following season of school performances. Pre-Sale orders may be placed by phone call to 651-282-3115, by mail to Education Sales, 345 Washington St, St Paul, MN 55102, or by fax to  651-215-2135. All pre-sale orders must be paid in full by mid-August or ticket orders will be canceled and released. 

Cost per Child/Student: $3.50 for Performing Arts Classroom Series and $5 for Broadway Songbook Series
Cost per Adult/Educator: $3.50 for Performing Arts Classroom Series and $5 for Broadway Songbook Series

Target Grade Level: K-12, but varies with performance (Grades 6-12 for Broadway Songbook Series)

Minimum Group Size: individual homeschool families 
Maximum Group Size: unknown

Sibling Policy: all children in attendance must have a paid ticket, even babes in arms
Parent/Guardian/Educator Policy: all children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian

More information online at www.ordway.org/education/performances/

Gathering Place Recommendations: by the stairs on the north end of the lobby

Getting There

Parking Information: There are numerous parking ramps within easy walking distance. The closest ramps are The St. Paul, RiverCentre, Lawson Commons, Kellogg Street Ramp, and Landmark Towers. More detailed information about parking in Saint Paul can be found at www.smart-trips.org

Also of interest ... : 

Flint Hills International Children’s Festival

School Performances.
Under Tickets and Subsidy, click Download 2011-2012 Festival Brochure.

Upcoming events and classes

  • Tue, May 29 — Sun, Jun 3
    Repeats every day until Sun Jun 03 2012 .
    10:30am - 1:00pm
    2012 Flint Hills International Children’s Festival
    May 29-June 3, for grades K-8, $3.50/ticket for school performances, $5/ticket for family weekend. Artists from around the world perform exquisite music, heartfelt dramas, and heart-pounding movement! Interact with artists in the park, tour the student art exhibition or attend workshops.
  • Thu, Sep 27 — Thu, Sep 27
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Rodgers & Hammerstein & Hart - Broadway Songbook Series
    for grades 6-12, $5/person. A legend among legends and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century, Richard Rogers teamed up with Lorenz Hart to compose hundreds of unforgettable hit songs and with Oscar Hammerstein II to create a catalog of the most enduring pieces of classic musical theater.
  • Tue, Oct 16 — Tue, Oct 16
    12:30pm - 1:30pm
    Lila Downs - Performing Arts Classroom Series
    grades 4-12, $3.50/person. Lila Downs has traversed the planet, bringing her unique reinvention of traditional ranchera music and original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul, and African roots. There is no real way to categorize her unique and exciting fusion of international sounds.
  • Mon, Oct 22 — Tue, Oct 23
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Delfos Danza Contemporánea - Performing Arts Classroom Series
    & 12:30pm, grades 6-12, $3.50/person. The mask is a disguise. It can be useful but, all masks fall away and in the end we are left with our true selves. In their newest dance piece, Delfos examines the masks we wear to survive, to love and to endure the world that seems never to want us to take our masks off.
  • Tue, Oct 23
    10:30am - 11:30am
    [HSA Event] Delfos Danza Contemporánea
    recommended for grades 6-12, $3.50/person. The mask is a disguise. It can be useful but, all masks fall away and in the end we are left with our true selves. In their newest dance piece, Delfos examines the masks we wear to survive, to love and to endure the world that seems never to want us to take our masks off.
    Registrations not accepted after Mon, Jun 18
  • Fri, Oct 26 — Fri, Oct 26
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Poncho Sanchez & His Latin Jazz Band - Performing Arts Classroom Series
    grades 2-8, $3.50/person. A fiery stew of jazz, soul music and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. Get ready to groove as Sanchez and his band transform the Ordway into a Latin jazz nightclub with the congas, trombone, timbales, bongos, and more!
  • Thu, Jan 24 — Thu, Jan 24
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Stephen Sondheim - Broadway Songbook Series
    for grades 6-12, $5/person. Picking up where his mentor, the renowned Oscar Hammerstein II, left off, Stephen Sondheim is by far the most influential theatrical composer and lyricist of the latter part of the 20th century whose work helped define the concept of a musical.
  • Wed, Feb 6 — Thu, Feb 7
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Buckwheat Zydeco - Performing Arts Classroom Series
    & 12:30pm, grades K-6, $3.50/person. The preeminent ambassador of Louisiana zydeco music, Buckwheat and his band introduce students to the sounds of zydeco through a smoking accordion, rocking Hammond B3 organ, rollicking rub board, and sizzling guitar licks creating a musical gumbo of Creole culture on stage.
  • Tue, Feb 19 — Wed, Feb 20
    10:30am - 11:30am
    VocalEssence: WITNESS: Marian Anderson - Performing Arts Classroom Series
    & 12:30pm grades 4-12, $3.50/person. In 1939, African American contralto Marian Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after she was refused permission to perform at Constitutional Hall. Students will learn how Anderson’s undeniable talent made her a force more powerful than discrimination.
  • Tue, Feb 19
    10:30am - 11:30am
    [HSA Event] VocalEssence: WITNESS: Marian Anderson
    recommended for grades 4-12, $3.50/person. In 1939, African American contralto Marian Anderson performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial after she was refused permission to perform at Constitutional Hall. Students will learn how Anderson’s undeniable talent made her a force more powerful than discrimination.
    Registrations not accepted after Mon, Jun 18

Past events and classes

  • Thu, May 3, 2012 — Thu, May 3
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Ballet of the Dolls
    10:30am & 12:30pm, grades 6-12, $3.50/person. Live music, singers and dancers join together as the Dolls push boundaries with original works that combine dance and theatrical staging elements while fearlessly creating challenging and surprising work that brings a sense of discovery to audiences and artists alike.
  • Thu, May 3, 2012
    10:30am - 11:30am
    [HSA Event] Ballet of the Dolls
    for grades 6-12, $3.50/person if paid by Wed, Apr 18, $4 afterwards. Live music, singers and dancers join together in original works that combine dance and theatrical staging elements while fearlessly creating challenging and surprising work that brings a sense of discovery to audiences and artists alike.
    Registrations not accepted after Thu, Apr 19 (All day)
  • Tue, Feb 21, 2012 — Wed, Feb 22
    10:30am - 11:30am
    VocalEssence WITNESS
    for grades 4-12, $3.50/person. In the Spirit of Being explores how we are all interconnected and encourages students to embrace a greater appreciation for the gift of life, gain confidence to overcome whatever struggles they may face, and be inspired in the peace attained through forgiveness.
  • Mon, Feb 13, 2012 — Mon, Feb 13
    10:30am - 11:30am
    Playing for Change
    for grades 4-12, $3.50/person. Playing for Change traveled around the world to record and film musicians of different faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities, and then blend their contributions into one unified and moving performance with the mission to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music.
  • Thu, Jan 12, 2012 — Thu, Jan 12
    10:30am
    Ronald K. Brown Evidence - A Dance Company
    for grades 4-12, $3.50/person. Through the fusion of modern dance, traditional African dance and spoken word, Evidence promotes an understanding of the human experience in the African Diaspora. Projected images highlight both historic and imagined connections that set the stage for an expanded sense of community.
  • Tue, Nov 1, 2011
    12:30pm - 1:30pm
    [HSA Event] Phantom of the Opera
  • Mon, Oct 24, 2011
    12:30pm - 1:30pm
    [HSA Event] Latin American Dance

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