A new musical about the annual ritual of flooding a backyard into a homemade ice rink is coming to Minneapolis's Children's Theatre Company this fall, telling the story of a father and daughter bonding through twelve stages of ice formation across a single winter. The world premiere of Twelve Kinds of Ice opens with previews on October 13 and runs through November 22, 2026, on CTC's intimate Cargill Stage.
The musical is based on Ellen Bryan Obed's 2012 illustrated memoir of the same name, according to WJON. Obed's 64-page book drew on her own childhood on a six-acre farm in Waterville, Maine, where her family built seasonal garden ice rinks, according to HarperCollins. The original book earned a string of literary honors, including selection as a 2013 Booklist Notable Children's Book, a Kirkus Best Children's Book of 2012, and a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Ben Steinfeld wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the stage adaptation, which is directed by CTC Artistic Director Rick Dildine with music direction by Justin D. Cook, according to Broadway World. The production marks the CTC debut of star Katherine Fried. Dildine, who has led CTC since July 2024, described the story as one that depicts Minnesota families flooding backyards to create ice rinks, per WJON's report.
A Sixty-Minute Show With National Ambitions
The production runs 60 minutes with no intermission, with official opening night set for October 16. Following its Minneapolis run, the show is scheduled to transfer to Seattle Children's Theatre for performances from January 28 through February 14, 2027, per Broadway World's account of the co-production plans.
The story follows a young child recalling adventures with her father through the twelve stages of ice formation, tickets for which are already on sale, WJON reports. That narrative arc mirrors Obed's original memoir structure, which traced a winter's progression through 20 nostalgic vignettes illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings by Barbara McClintock.
CTC's Track Record With Original Musicals
Children's Theatre Company has developed more than 200 original scripts over its history, according to WJON. Its most famous success story is A Year with Frog and Toad, a 2002 CTC production that transferred to Broadway's Cort Theatre in 2003 and earned three Tony Award nominations, per Broadway World's account of the company's history.
Founded in 1965 as the Moppet Players, CTC is recognized as the largest theater dedicated to multigenerational audiences in North America and won the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 2003. Dildine took over as artistic director in mid-2024, becoming the fourth in CTC's history after replacing Peter C. Brosius, who led the theater for 27 years, according to American Theatre.
Second Original Musical Follows Next Spring
Twelve Kinds of Ice is the first of two world-premiere original musicals in CTC's 2026-27 season. It will be followed by Princess Kay of the Milky Way, a musical inspired by the Minnesota State Fair's butter-sculpture tradition, which WJON reports will have its world premiere at Children's Theatre Company in spring 2026.
The backyard-rink tradition at the heart of Twelve Kinds of Ice carries an added layer of poignancy given how winters have shifted in recent decades. Community science tracking from initiatives like RinkWatch has found that warming winter trends have led to a measurable decline in quality outdoor skating days across northern U.S. states and Canada, a backdrop that lends extra weight to a story built around sustained subfreezing cold.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
