Theatreworks USA to Open New Weekend Series of Performances this Saturday

Theatreworks USA (Barbara Pasternack, Artistic Director; Ken Arthur, Producing Director) will kick off its 2016 weekend family performance series this Saturday, January 9th, with Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide To School, the New York premiere of the new children's musical based on the best-selling series of books by Barbara Park (published by Random House Books for Young Readers), penned by Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich (Ever After, Dear Edwina).

Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School is the sequel from the award-winning team that brought you the original Off-Broadway production of Theatreworks USA's acclaimed hit Junie B. Jones. Now that Junie B. Jones has been going to school for over one-and-a-half years, who better to write the book on EVERYTHING you need to know? With a jillion tips, tricks and trip-ups, Junie B. shares her hard-won expertise and shows us all how school is sometimes scary, sometimes super-fun, and ALWAYS something to sing about!

Directed by Dennis Corsi and choreographed by Tiffany Chalothorn, Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School has book and lyrics by Marcy Heisler; music and vocal arrangements by Zina Goldrich; set design by Luke Hegel-Cantarella; costume design by Lora LaVon. Julianne B. Merrill will serve as Music Director. Original direction by Peter Flynn and original choreography by Devanand Janki.

Featured in the cast are Lizzy Brooks, Gino Chaviano, Michelle Croll, Charles Engelsgjerd, and Annabelle Fox.

Theatreworks USA at The Kaye Playhouse Series will feature eight different productions over 11 weekends, each offering one-hour weekend performances recommended for children four and up. Upcoming performances will be:

January 17: Seussical, a condensed one-act version for young audiences of the Broadway musical, has music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Ahrens and Flaherty, and conception by Ahrens, Flaherty and Eric Idle (Monty Python), and was adapted from the works of Dr. Seuss. The Off-Broadway premiere of Seussical was nominated for Outstanding Revival by the Lortel Awards in 2008.

January 31: The Lightning Thief, a musical adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, features a book by Joe Tracz with music, lyrics, & orchestrations by Rob Rokicki. The Off-Broadway premiere of The Lightning Thief was nominated for Outstanding Musical by the Lortel Awards in 2015.

February 13: Henry and Mudge?was adapted by bookwriter/lyricist Kait Kerrigan and composer/lyricist Brian Lowdermilk (Jonathan Larson Award-winners) and is based on the best-selling books by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Suçie Stevenson. Henry and Mudge premiered Off-Broadway in July 2006 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

February 27: Charlotte's Web is a play by Joseph Robinette (A Christmas Story) based on the Newbery Medal-winning book by E.B. White with an incidental music score by Jeffrey Lunden (Winner of the Lortel Award, Rodgers Award, and Jonathan Larson Award).

March 13: Page Turner Adventures' The Mixed-Up Fairy Tale presents hilarious storytelling with a touch of vaudeville, featuring Riley Roam as?"World Famous Storyologist" Page Turner and former Ringling Bros. clown Kenny Mikey as her bumbling assistant.

March 19: Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School

March 26: Seussical

April 3: Henry and Mudge

April 24: Skippyjon Jones Snow What based on the book by Judy Schachner, features a libretto and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila and a score by Eli Bolin. Skippyjon Jones Snow What premiered Off-Broadway in July 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.?

May 1: Curious George: The Golden Meatball, a musical based on the books by Margaret and H.A. Rey and the play owned by Universal Stage Productions, features a book by Jeremy Desmon with original music by John Kavanaugh.?

The Kaye Playhouse is located at East 68th Street between Park & Lexington Avenues. Tickets for all performances will be $25. Discounted rates for groups of 4 or more are available as well. Tickets may be purchased online: www.hunter.cuny.edu/kayeplayhouse, by phone at 212/772-4448, and in person at the box office, which is open from Noon-6pm, Monday through Saturday.

Theatreworks USA is America's foremost professional theatre for young and family audiences. Theatreworks USA's mission is to create imaginative and sophisticated shows that are educational, entertaining, and thought provoking, and to ensure that these shows are accessible to audiences across America regardless of geography and socio-economic status. Since 1961, Theatreworks USA has reached over 93 million people in 49 states and Canada, and the company now performs for about three million young people annually. Every year, the company tours approximately ten shows from its ever-growing repertoire of 133 plays and musicals. In addition, Theatreworks USA has an extensive guest artist roster of multi-cultural storytellers, musicians, puppeteers, magicians and more.

Theatreworks USA's honors include a Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel Award, the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award, the William M. Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence given by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, and the Medal of Honor from the Actors Fund of America. Past Free Summer Theatre productions at the Lucille Lortel Theatre include The Lightning Thief (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); Skippyjon Jones (Lortel Award nominee: Best Musical); The Yellow Brick Road (Callaway nominee: Best Choreography); We the People: America Rocks! (Lortel nominee: Best Musical); Click, Clack, Moo (Lortel nominee: Best Musical, Drama Desk nominee: Best Lyrics); and Seussical (Lortel and Drama League nominee: Best Revival of a Musical). Free Summer Theatre is entirely underwritten by charitable contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and public support.

This program from Theatreworks USA is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

For more information on this series or the other programs offered by Theatreworks USA, visit www.TWUSA.org.