NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE Opens this Week at Valley Youth Theatre

Valley Youth Theatre (VYT) continues its 26th Anniversary Season with the musical Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe which opens Friday, October 10.

"I believe audiences will enjoy this musical based on C.S. Lewis' story on many different levels and for its many different characters, including Aslan the Lion and Jadis the White Witch -- who bears a striking resemblance to Elsa the Snow Queen in the movie Frozen," said Producing Artistic Director Bobb Cooper. Both projects were inspired by Hans Christian Andersen who wrote The Snow Queen as part of a collection of fairy tales first published in 1844.

The musical features 32 performers, nearly half of whom have never before been on the VYT mainstage. Altogether, there are 11 from Phoenix, 7 from Chandler, 4 from Paradise Valley, 3 each from Surprise and Scottsdale, and 1 each from El Mirage, Gilbert and Mesa.

The story is about four siblings: Peter (Andy Wissink), Susan (Alex Kirby), Lucy (Makenna Jacobs), and Edmund (Owen Watson) who discover a magical forest inhabited by a faun named Tumnus (Vincent Pugliese), Mr. and Mrs. Beaver (Sam Primack, Noa Gauthier), Aslan (Brandon Reyes) and dozens of other talking animals and mythical creatures including The White Witch (Sarah Pansing) and Father Christmas (Billy Deihl).

Based on C.S. Lewis' second book in the Narnia Chronicles series (but the first written), Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe features a libretto by Jules Tasca, lyrics by Ted Drachman and music by Thomas Tierney. All three also collaborated on the award-winning musical The Amazing Einstein.

Narnia runs through October 26. Tickets start at $20 and are available by calling the VYT box office at 602.253.8188 x2 or ordering online at VYT.com.