Circa gets treat meeting ‘Wimpy Kid’ author

The Circa ’21 cast and crew of the new “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical” got a special treat Thursday morning before their first performance – a Zoom call from Jeff Kinney, the author of the phenomenally popular book series on which the show is based.

“I am so excited about this,” Kinney, 53, told the group Thursday morning, in the Circa ’21 Speakeasy. “You guys are putting on the premiere of the 60-minute version of the play. You’re the first out of the gate. We’ve been running this at the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, workshopping it, but you’re putting it on – launching ‘Wimpy Kid’ the musical into the world, and I wanted to say thank you for that.”

Another special reason he reached out Wednesday to Circa to talk with the cast and crew is that his father Brian grew up in Rock Island (on 22 ½ Avenue), and graduated from Rock Island High School. His grandfather Bill was a sportswriter then editor for the Rock Island Argus.

“All of my love for comics comes from my father, so in a way, ‘Wimpy Kid’ was born in Rock Island, Illinois when my dad was reading Uncle Scrooge comics, and he passed that love on to me,” Jeff Kinney said. “Now it’s so cool that it’s coming back through you, so thank you so much for putting on this play.”

His father lived in Rock Island until he went to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and went on to work at the Pentagon. Jeff was born Feb. 19, 1971 in Maryland, and grew up in the Washington, D.C. area.

He attended the University of Maryland in the early 1990s. It was there that Jeff ran a comic strip called “Igdoof” in the campus newspaper. He knew he wanted to be a cartoonist, according to his bio.

However, Jeff was not successful getting his comic strip syndicated after college, and in 1998 he started writing down ideas for “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” which he hoped to turn into a book.

After six years of working on this content, Kinney Jeff released the first of many daily installments on Funbrain.com in May 2014.

After receiving millions of views of this content on Funbrain, he brought a printed sample of his manuscript to New York ComicCon in 2006. Shortly thereafter, he signed a multi-book deal with Abrams to turn the writing and illustrations into a book series.

Loosely based on Jeff’s own childhood, the series follows middle school weakling Greg Heffley, as he journals the trials, tribulations and humor of dealing with family, friends and surviving middle school.

The first book in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series was published in 2007 and gained instant success. Today, there are 19 books in the series in 84 editions and 69 languages. The books have sold more than 290 million copies globally.

With music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler, book by Kevin Del Aguila, the full-length “Wimpy Kid” musical was first performed at the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company in 2016.

Cast introductions

During the 15-minute Zoom on Thursday, Kinney wanted to see the actors playing the main parts.

“I like Greg; it’s a really fun part to play,” said Jack Carslake, who’s playing Greg.

Kinney said Rowley is his favorite character, “because he’s a kid who likes being a kid, and I think that’s really fun,” he said. He called Patty “a bad-ass character.”

He showed he group his colorful play space where he works, including an Uncle Scrooge statue once owned by Michael Jackson. He showed a nine-foot cheese wall, a chair from one of the first “Wimpy Kid” movies, replicas of “Wimpy Kid” balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a statue of Greg in his mom’s bathrobe.

Kinney asked them what their favorite songs from the musical are, and they mentioned “Animal Heart” and “Cheese Touch.”

“It was really interesting to me, that I handed this musical over to these guys who are really talented… and the first time I saw it, it was like ‘Oh my God, this is really good’,” Kinney recalled. “a lot of times these kind of things, you have children’s properties and they come out a little crappy and so, this is like really solid. I think it can have legs, play at places for 10, 20 years.

“I am so proud that you guys are launching it, in the place my dad grew up,” he said, noting his favorite songs include “Cheese Touch” and “Stuck in the Middle.” “Make your town proud. You’re gonna put a smile on a lot of people’s faces. I am really thrilled you’re a part of this. I hope it’s a lot of fun for you.”

Vivian Browne, a 21-year-old member of the Circa cast, said the first book came out when she was in 2^nd or 3^rd grade, “and it shaped my entire childhood,” she told Kinney. “Doing this play has really been an experience.”

“I always hoped I didn’t ruin any children,” Kinney said of the books. “You seem stable, you’re not in jail.”

In addition to the book series, Jeff has written and illustrated three spin-off titles in the Awesome Friendly Kid series, written from the perspective of Greg’s best friend, Rowley Jefferson.

Kinney is the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites. He lives with his wife and two sons in Plainville, Mass., where they own a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.

Directing and co-scenic designing “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical” is longtime Circa favorite Kimberly VanDerGinst. Also on the production team are show co-star Bobby Becher, serving as musical director, and Andrea Moore as choreographer.

Greg is portrayed by Jack Carslake, previously seen in Circa ’21’s “A Christmas Story: The Musical” and “Beauty & the Beast,” with Greg’s best pal Rowley played by Marlo Reed and weird neighbor Fregley by Brighton Greim.

And with Greg’s older-brother nemesis Rodrick enacted by Daniel Hauskins, additional members of the show’s adult-and-student ensemble include Ashley Becher, Bobby Becher, Vivian Browne, Arnav Mali, Kirsten Sindelar, Krianna Walljasper, Fulton Young, Luke Young, Mark Young and Olivia Young.

VanDerGinst said she knew it was the premiere of the hour-long version. “It’s very cool that his father grew up here,” she said Thursday.

Circa ’21 will present show-only performances in 10 a.m. productions on March 22, 23, 26, 28 and 30; April 2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13 and May 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16 and 18. An afternoon performance of the musical, at 1 p.m., is scheduled for April 6. All tickets for the show are $12 per person.

For tickets and information, contact the Circa box office at 1828 3rd Ave, Rock Island, or call 309-786-7733, ext. 2. For more on the sprawling “Wimpy Kid” universe, click HERE.

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