John Burton Davidson, a co-founder of Children's Theatre Company who later became known as a playwright, died Nov. 5, in Minneapolis. He suffered congestive heart failure, according to his daughter, Betsy Spitzer, of Minneapolis.
"His heart just gave out," she said.
His death, at 81, came 10 days before his adaptation of "Cinderella" opens at Children's Theatre in Minneapolis. The musical, Davidson's best known stage work, has been part of the company's repertory since the 1970s, and has long been a reliable source of robust ticket sales.
"The Children's Theatre has really lost a great friend," said Peter Brosius, artistic director of CTC. "He respected young people and their imaginations. It's deeply tragic and moving that we're in rehearsal with his piece. It's very sad, but we carry his spirit with us."
Davidson also wrote "The Last Minstrel Show," about the 1920 lynchings of three black circus workers falsely accused of rape in Duluth. That play was staged at History Theatre in St. Paul, and elsewhere.
A musical hobbyist, he liked to play guitar and piano and to compose.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Davidson graduated from now-closed Minneapolis Central High School. He served in the U.S. Navy in Hawaii during the 1950s, according to his family, and later studied theater at the University of Minnesota.
That is where he met some of the co-founders of the Moppet Players, which would become Children's Theatre. Davidson served as managing director in the early company, said actor and singer Barbara Davidson, whom he married and divorced but with whom he remained cordial.
