A youth-hockey musical will kick off Children's Theatre Company's season next fall.

"The Abominables," drawn from interviews with hockey moms and dads, players, coaches and myriad others from Mankato to Duluth, was developed over several years by the Civilians, an inventive New York-based troupe known for gathering stories via interviews. Scheduled to run Sept. 12-Oct. 15, the show will be directed by Civilians artistic director Steve Cosson.

It's one of several premieres and collaborations planned for next season, which will be CTC's 20th under energetic artistic director Peter Brosius.

The theater will team up with London's Old Vic for the U.S. premiere of "Dr. Seuss's The Lorax." That season-closing show will be helmed by the same creative team — director Max Webster and puppet designers Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes — that won a Tony for "War Horse" (April 17-June 10, 2018).

The theater also will debut "Corduroy," playwright Barry Kornhauser's adaptation of Don Freeman's 1968 children's book about a teddy bear with a missing button that finds a loving home. Brosius directs while CTC company members Dean Holt and Reed Sigmund star. (March 6-May 13, 2018.)

CTC will stage its first-ever production of "The Wiz," a collaboration with Penumbra Theatre to be directed by Penumbra founder Lou Bellamy. Paris Bennett, of "American Idol" fame, will ease on down the road as Dorothy (Jan. 23-March 18, 2018).

For the holidays, Brosius is reviving one of the most popular shows in the company's repertory, "Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Reed Sigmund reprises his role as the mean green cave-dweller whose heart needs to grow several sizes bigger (Nov. 7-Jan. 7). CTC also will reprise Brosius' preschool show "Balloonacy," featuring Robert Dorfman (Oct. 3-Nov. 12).

"We want American youngsters to grow up with vibrant, extraordinary theater," Brosius said.

He compared it to the way Finland's education system cultivates a sense of music appreciation in its children.

"These shows ask us to think about who we are and how, if we are to succeed, we must come together. … These shows create opportunities for multigenerational audiences to come together as family and community."

Season subscriptions go on sale Wednesday; individual tickets will be available at a later date. Call 612-874-0400 or go to childrenstheatre.org for information.

612-673-4390 • @rohanpreston