Coco's Diary
Coco's Diary
Streaming Friday May 8 - Thursday May 21, 2020
To stream online, click here.
NEW EVENT!
Coco's Diary Afterthoughts Happy Hour - Friday, May 22, 7:30-8pm
Special guests: Kacie Riddle and Ana Evans
Free event; via zoom. CLICK HERE for a link to zoom event.
A comedy adapted from the diary of Clotilde Irvine by Ron Peluso and Bob Beverage
Musical selection by Bob Beverage | directed by Ron Peluso | Music direction by Jake Endres
History Theatre premiere March 3-25, 2012 | Running time: Act 1: 57:57 Act 2: 44:55
Clotilde "Coco" Irvine, was given a diary for Christmas in which she faithfully chronicles the ups and downs of her rollercoaster year. Coco is a bright, adventurous, wickedly funny heroine who is constantly in a fix at home and school "through no fault of my own." This wonderful History Theatre original features some of the greatest songs of the 1920s. It's a charming, funny and delightful entertainment for the entire family.
- To stream online, click here. Please consider buying a ticket for everyone viewing. We hope to cover our costs, pay our artists during this crisis and stay connected to YOU, our loyal audience.
From the Artistic Director
Coco's story is perfect for History Theatre. Our mission is to bring real stories about real people to the stage, and the Irvine family was an important part of St. Paul's history.
There is something about the innocence of the diary and how smart Coco was. She shows the joy of life teenagers have that sometimes gets beaten out of us as we get older.
This funny and quirky play with music is based on life of 13-year-old Clotilde “Coco” Irving. Coco grew up in a beautiful home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, which is now the Governor’s Residence of the State of Minnesota. Coco's Diary wouldn't have made it to the stage if it hadn't been for Peg Meier, former Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter who specializes in writing books based on regional history. Peg has a great track record of providing History Theatre with excellent stories, including "Hiding in the Open" and "Sister Kenny's Children," said Peluso, who is Meier's Minneapolis neighbor. "One morning, Peg pounded on my door and handed me this diary, which she found at the Minnesota Historical Society. She said, 'I think there is a play there.'"
To learn more about the show, read "Coco's story, from the page to the stage," by Graydon Royce, Star Tribune, March 5, 2012. Click here.
In her own words
Ron Peluso and Bob Beverage framed the play on the premise that Coco and Tom return to the Summit Avenue house in 1965, after the family has given it to the state of Minnesota. Coco finds her diary, and the young Coco appears through theater magic.“We didn’t have a hard time writing dialogue because Coco writes everything in the diary almost as if it is dialogue,” Peluso says. “Eighty to 90 percent of the play is her words, embellished a little to give some drama.”
Saturday, January 8
I had fun with Charlie, who told me this joke: A dog went across the railroad track and a train ran over his tail. He looked back to see where his tail was and a train came the other way and cut off his head. Moral - Don't lose your head over a little piece of tail.
Sunday, January 9
I am in deep trouble. I told that joke at the dinner table and...
Critical praise for "Coco's Diary"
Teenage version of Coco brings life to "Coco's Diary"
by Dominic Papatola (Pioneer Press, 11/9/2015)
Thirteen-year-old girls think about boys a lot. They tend toward the melodramatic. They are adept at getting what they want by turning on the waterworks. They are equally adept at making bad decisions. None of this is exactly front page news. But the charm of “Coco’s Diary,” a new play now on stage at the History Theatre, is how enduring these constants are, whether the girl in question is 13 in 1927 or 2012.
Being thirteen is a universal experience
by Bev Wolfe (TC Daily Planet, 3/15/2012)
At times, Coco’s thoughts reminded me of the diary kept by Anne Frank, the young girl who died in a death camp in World War II. Unlike Frank, Coco did not live under the ever looming threat of annihilation. But the striking similarities between Coco and Frank in their efforts to be independent, conflicts with their mothers, curiosity about boys, and general optimism about life show the universality of 13-year-old girls. Although the play runs a little long, it is entertaining and I highly recommend it to anyone who was once 13 years old.
There's no in between when you're 13
by Jill Schafer (cherryandspoon.com, 3/5/2012)
Coco reminds me of my 13-year-old cousin; everything is so dramatic, it's either the best thing that's ever happened, or the worst. There is no in between when you're 13. Coco was smart, precocious, charming, and a talented writer. It's no surprise that the History Theatre chose to bring this story to life; it's a great story set in a specific time and place in Minnesota history, but it's also a universal story of the trials and tribulations of growing up.
Cast
Young Clotilde "Coco" Irvine - Anna Evans and Kacie Riddle (streaming video)
Adult Coco - Andrea Wollenberg*
Tom - Jake Endres*
Adult Coco (Understudy) - Greta Grosch*
Artistic Team
Director - Ron Peluso*+
Music Director - Jake Endres*
Scenic Designer - Rick Polenek
Lighting Designer - Pamela Kildahl*
Costume Designer - Kelsey Glasener
Property Designer - Kirby Moore
Stage Manager - Janet L. Hall*
Choreographer/Assistant to the Director - Regina Peluso*
Technical Director - Gunthre Gullickson
Assistant Technical Director - Justin Hooper
Master Electrician - Matthew Earley
Light Board Operator - David Hopkins-Hile
* denotes a Member of Actors' Equity Association
+ denotes a Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc.
Special Thanks
Vicki and Si Ford, Peg Meier, Greta Grosch
Time & Place
1006 Summit Avenue, St. Paul | 1965 and 1927
In 1965, the Irvine family donated the home to the State of Minnesota and it was designated as the State Ceremonial Building, to be used for state events and as the governor's residence.