Silly, Spooky Fun Comes to The Walnut With GOOSEBUMPS: PHANTOM OF THE AUDITORIUM

Audiences of all ages will love the frighteningly fun Walnut Street Theatre for Kids' (WST for Kids') production of R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium! From February 2 - 10, see one of America's most popular children's book series and its delightful thrills come to life on the historic Walnut stage!

R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium is based on the beloved book series from R. L. Stine and investigates the strange happenings during rehearsals of Brooke and Zeke's school play. Is it a practical joke or is the school's theater really haunted? Follow the two on a silly and (only a little) spooky musical mystery.

R.L. Stine is one of the best-selling children's authors in history. In July 1992, Scholastic introduced his Goosebumps book series with Welcome to Dead House. Over 25 years later, Goosebumps is now one of the best-selling children's series of all time-with more than 400 million copies in print in 32 languages. The series' success was recognized locally in 2002 when R.L. Stine received the Philadelphia Free Library's first ever "Champion of Reading" award. As the series grew in popularity, Goosebumps has been adapted into a television series and three feature length films, one of which starred actor, comedian, and musician Jack Black. The famed series received a new musical adaptation in 2016 when Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium was created as a stage musical with book and lyrics written by John Maclay and orchestrations and music written by Danny Abosch. R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium was first presented at Oregon Children's Theatre.

Nichalas Parker is thrilled to make his WST for Kids' directorial debut with R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium. Previously, Nichalas has performed in Walnut productions such as Memphis, The Wizard of Oz, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Nichalas will be seen in the upcoming productions of Civil War Voices and Shrek: The Musical! Outside of performing, Nichalas has directed the Walnut's Touring Outreach production of Freedom Riders, assistant directed the WST for Kids' Series recent production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and worked as a teaching artist throughout the Philadelphia area.

Nate Golden continues working with the WST for Kids' series as choreographer for R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium. Previously, Nate was a 2011-12 Walnut acting apprentice, and choreographed several prior WST for Kids' series shows including Disney's Aladdin Jr., Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Ivy + Bean, Flat Stanley, and more. Outside of the Walnut, Nate is the artistic director of the Philadelphia based company, Nightcap Cabaret. He will be joined by Music and Vocal Director Rob Tucker, a Philadelphia actor, musician, and teacher. Featured Philadelphia-area work includes Mary Poppins, Godspell, Putting It Together, and Chicago. When not working with the Walnut, Rob can be found teaching with the Arden Theatre Company, and The University of the Arts.

Making her Walnut costume design debut is Jennifer Miller, one this season's costumes apprentices. Jennifer recently graduated with a degree in Costume and Performance Design from University of Bournemouth in Poole, England. Molly Moore, this season's scenic painting apprentice, will also be making her Walnut debut as scenic designer. Previously, Molly has worked with Phoenix Theatre of Phoenix, AZ and Philadelphia-based Azuka Theatre and New Freedom Theatre. Rounding out the team is Sasha Anistratova as lighting designer and Adam B. Orseck as sound designer. Sasha was lighting designer for the Walnut's productions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and assisted with Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical, and Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn. Adam returns as sound designer after previous sound work on Disney's Aladdin Jr.

Ms. Walker, the energetic drama teacher, is played by Anne Bragg, a 2016-17 Walnut acting apprentice. Previous Walnut credits include Skippyjon Jones and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Jared Calhoun, a 2015-16 Walnut acting apprentice, returns to play the role of Brian. Goosebumps marks Jared's eighth WST for Kids' show including Ivy + Bean, StinkyKids, Junie B. Jones, Skippyjon Jones, Freckleface Strawberry, and two productions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Joining Anne and Jared are four performers making their Walnut debut in R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium. Playing the intelligent teen and hopeful star, Brooke, is Leah Senseney who was last seen in Media Theatre's production of The Wizard of Oz. Zeke, a jokester teen with a love for theatre, is played by Elias Rivera who recently performed in Candlelight Theatre's production of The Drowsy Chaperone. Tina, the experienced drama student, is played by Chelsey Jean who was last cast in Gateway Playhouse's production of Little Women. Lastly, friend and drama student, Emile, is played by Tristan Horan, who built a love for children's theatre at Upper Darby Summer Stage.

As part of its educational mission, the WST for Kids' series encourages families to read together and see the books come to life onstage. Thousands of local students attend WST for Kids' performances and experience live theatre for the first time as part of these school trips to the Walnut. Due to popular demand, two special student matinee performances have been added on Wednesday, February 6 and Friday, February 8 both at 10:30am!

R.L. Stine's GOOSEBUMPS: Phantom of the Auditorium is live on stage at the Walnut February 2-10, and is sponsored by the Mutual Fire Foundation. Media partner for this production is Courier-Post. WST for Kids' season sponsor is Sharon and Scott Rankin. For tickets and information, call 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787. Tickets are also available online 24/7 by visiting www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or Ticketmaster.

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