Mary Basta puts finishing touches on CDA ACT actress Abbey Waterdown's costume before dress rehearsal Wednesday night at the Kroc Center. "Singin' in the Rain Jr." opens tonight, marking the nonprofit theater organization's 10th year of celebrating the talents of performers with disabilities.
November 5, 2025
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'Singin' in the Rain Jr.' opens tonight at Kroc Center
'Singin' in the Rain Jr.' opens tonight at Kroc Center
Participating in CDA ACT productions the past 10 years has made Charmaine Brown feel a little like Elsa from "Frozen." "I am very secretive about who knows my disability," Brown said Wednesday night. "Accepting my disability has always been such a challenging time for me." Formerly known as Out of the Shadows Theater, Brown said CDA ACT lives up to why it was created in the first place. "When it was Out of the Shadows, it was about people who are disabled no longer being in the shadows but being in the spotlight," she said. Its acronym is its tagline —"Celebrating Different Abilities through Art and Community Theater." "That helps me accept me for who I am," Brown said.