BOSTON: Boston Children’s Theatre has announced its 2017-18 season, featuring five productions.
The season will start with Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium (Oct. 20-Nov. 5), with book and lyrics by John Maclay and music and lyrics by Danny Abosch. Adapted from R.L. Stine, the musical follows a school’s production of a play about a phantom, all while an actual phantom disrupts the rehearsals. The show will be presented at the Larcom Theatre in Beverly, Mass.
Next up will be the return of A Charlie Brown Christmas (Nov. 25-Dec. 10), adapted by Eric Schaeffer from Charles M. Schulz, and based on the television special by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. The holiday play follows Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, and the Peanuts gang as they prepare a Christmas pageant. Executive artistic director Burgess Clark will direct. The show will be presented at the Larcom Theatre in Beverly, Mass.
Following will be the annual production of The Velveteen Rabbit (Dec. 3-18), adapted by Burgess Clark from the book by Margery Williams, about how an endearing velveteen rabbit changed a young boy’s life. The show will feature hand-crafted puppets by Marjorie Tudor. The show will be presented at the Roberts Studio Theatre in Boston.
Next will be Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat (Feb. 10-25, 2018), adapted by Katie Mitchell, about a mischievous cat in a striped red-and-white hat that entertains children on a rainy afternoon.
The season will conclude with 1984 (April 21-29, 2018), adapted by Michael Gene Sullivan from George Orwell, about a dystopian world governed by omnipresent government surveillance.
Boston Children’s Theatre, founded in 1951, produces and develops works for young audiences.