Children's Theater

Director Cara Gabriel on the magic and joy of ‘Winterfest’ at Adventure Theatre

‘Our kids have been on screens 24/7 the past two years. I wanted to involve them live and in person whenever we could.’

‘Corduroy’ at Imagination Stage is laugh-out-loud adorable

A lighthearted, fun adventure for families with young children.

Adventure Theatre’s ‘Winterfest’ is a three-in-one celebration

Productions feature stories about the magic of Chanukah, a heartwarming Christmas journey from the Philippines, and the connecting power of snow.

Imagination Stage begins in-person season with safety paramount

Five live productions to bring joy to the young and very young.

Kennedy Center’s ‘Accoustic Rooster / Indigo Blume’ is a joyous smash hit

An amazing production filled with energy, courage, and hope.

Fun’s in store at ‘Enchanted Bookshop Christmas’ from Encore Stage & Studio

Highly enjoyable and full of spirit, a great way for your family to kick off the holiday season.

Randy Preston crows about his songs in ‘Accoustic Rooster’ at KenCen

‘I put in as much music as I could because kids need to be exposed to as much good music as they can.’

Adventure Theatre’s ‘Luchadora!’ a fantastic show for the whole family

The tale of a teen tomboy, set in the world of Mexican wrestling.

Kennedy Center opens a fantastic ‘Wind in the Door’ for kids

A heartwarming show with a powerful message based on Madeleine L’Engle’s classic.

Arts on the Horizon brings back ‘By the Seashore’ outdoors

The sensory-filled production takes children age 0–3 on a magical journey to the beach.

Imagination Stage brings free kids show to Olney Outdoors

Enchanting dance theater piece ‘Paper Dreams’ to play weekend mornings.

Adventure Theatre’s first in-person show to be two fairy tales, outdoors

Maryland’s premiere musical theater academy and family theater to open ‘Fairy Tales in the Sun’ July 11.

KenCen puts on puppet show and kids try it at home

I had the opportunity to watch Leonardo and Sam: The Terrible Monster and the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World, Respectively with my daughters (aged 7 and 9). The show is adapted from two Mo...

How Imagination Stage is making sure the kids are okay during COVID

A new guard is stepping in at Imagination Stage, led by longtime Artistic Director, now Producing Artistic Director Janet Stanford. Rounding out the leadership trifecta are Meghann Babo-Shroyer as...

Imagination Stage strikes gold with ‘Spy Academy & the Lost Treasure of Atlantis’

There are jumping dogs, ninja fights, and double crosses. The story is fast-paced and offers many moments for kids to chime in on how the story should advance (remember Choose Your Own Adventure...

Camp Arena Stage—DC’s longest-running daycamp for the arts—goes online

When COVID-19 first struck last winter, most of us in the theater world—audiences as well as those on or off stage—thought the crisis would end in a couple of weeks. No such luck. Theaters, along with...

How Only Make Believe brings theater to kids in hospitals even during COVID

In these days of medically necessary masks and prudent social distancing, let us not forget children in hospitals and care facilities living with chronic illnesses and disabilities unrelated to...

DMV-area organizations plan for a virtual summer camp experience

As the end dates for social-distancing recommendations keep being pushed further toward the end of the year, many DC, Maryland, and Virginia arts organizations are committing to an effort to connect...

Young Artists of America at Strathmore announces virtual summer camp program

Young Artists of America at Strathmore (YAA) is thrilled to announce Virtual Summer Performing Arts Intensives, an online version of their award-winning summer musical theater program. While COVID-19...

Adventure Theatre honors API Heritage Month with streaming special events

Though the sea of online content is deep at the moment, that’s not stopping Adventure Theatre MTC. They are diving right in with a full lineup of API Heritage Month storytimes, interviews, and digital...

‘Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth’ returns to Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage brings back its Helen Hayes nominated show, Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth, written by Psalmayene 24. With the title character, Zomo, inspired by a Nigerian folktale, the...

Natsu Onoda Power’s adaptation of ‘Thumbelina’ captivates audiences of all ages at Imagination Stage

By Kelly Hanson Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina, a beloved fairy tale about a tiny girl searching for a place to belong, has been captivating children for hundreds of years. Though this story has...

American Pops Orchestra cleverly re-imagines ‘The Pied Piper’ at Arena Stage

The weather outside was surely cold and cranky. But the outside world could be quickly forgotten as the American Pops Orchestra (APO), led by Maestro Luke Frazier, gently took children and adults by...

‘1001 Black Inventions’ continues The Essential Theatre’s free presentations for young audiences

The Essential Theatre rings in the New Year by continuing an 18-month celebration of the 30th anniversary of its founding. In partnership with the District of Columbia Public Library System the...

‘The Magical Piñata’ at the Keegan Theatre celebrates Mexican culture and teaches about sharing

The concept of gratitude and sharing can be one of the hardest things for a child to learn. But in a world full of greed, these principles are vital to maintaining a semblance of peace and prosperity....

‘Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!’ Pigeon and Driver tell us why!

Oh, that pigeon! Always causing trouble. He never wants to take a bath. He stays up past his bedtime. And now he wants to drive… a bus?! Children’s author Mo Willems continues his tenure as inaugural...

‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ at Adventure Theatre is charming holiday fare

We all want to feel loved, right? And there are times we feel forgotten. Unseen. Disposable. The classic children’s story The Velveteen Rabbit is a sentimental reminder that a child’s love can turn...

Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theater shines a fresh light on ‘The Jungle Book’

Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theater presents its own adaptation of the popular tale, The Jungle Book. Based on Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name, the show centers around the man-cub, Mowgli,...

Review: ‘Disney’s Newsies’ by Encore Stage & Studio at Kenmore Middle School Theatre

Encore Stage & Studio’s “Theatre by Kids, for Kids!” is currently showing the Disney musical, Newsies. Based on the 1992 movie, and inspired by the real-life newsboy strike in 1899, the story takes...

Review: ‘The Cat in the Hat’ at Adventure Theatre

To transmogrify Seuss, What a difficult task! Just how do they do it? And well might you ask! This master of mayhem Who leaps from the page, How could he be possibly Put on the stage? In drawings and...

Review: ‘Stand Out!’ by Take the Stage Performance Company

By Tracy Danoff The Kreeger Theater inside the Bender JCC of Greater Washington was buzzing with excitement. In the minutes before the show started, adults and children alike were enthusiastically...

Review: ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ at the Kennedy Center

Life is hard enough when growing up, but when you find out that you’re the son of a god, the stakes get even higher. Armed with friends and a pen, Percy Jackson explores the world of newly discovered...

‘The Enchanted Bookshop’ at Encore Stage & Studio

Encore Stage & Studio’s polished and playful production of The Enchanted Bookshop is funtertainment for the whole family! The Enchanted Bookshop by Todd Wallinger tells the magical tale of Margie, the...

Review: ‘Madeline’s Christmas’ at Creative Cauldron

This holiday season, Creative Cauldron reprises Madeline’s Christmas, with book and lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby and music by Shirley Mier, based on the beloved children’s book by Ludwig Bemelmans....

Review: ‘Les Misérables: School Edition’ at Ovations Theatre

At a time when we are marching for our rights, a show like Les Misérables feels only too appropriate. If you don’t hear the people sing, then you have cotton in your ears. The outstanding senior...

Report: ‘Jingle ARRGH the Way’ by Encore Stage and Studio

Nothing says Christmas like Pirates, am I right?! Well, Encore Stage & Studio’s production of Jingle ARRGH the Way follows Captain Braid Beard and his crew as they sail to the North Pole in search of...

Review: ‘Cinderella’ at Imagination Stage

Full disclosure: I love fairy tales. All of them. I always have, despite also being a girl who asked myself one day why Rapunzel couldn’t just make a ladder with all her own hair and escape the tower...

Review: ‘Ghostchasers’ by Encore Stage

By Andy Arnold You know you’ll have a bad day at work when the guests at the Hangtown Asylum for Extremely Tense People lock up the staff and take over the business. As it happens, the asylum is built...

Review: ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’ at Imagination Stage

Imagination Stage presents You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz. Clark M. Gesner provides book, music, and lyrics, with additional dialogue by...

Review: ‘Tinker Bell’ at Adventure Theatre MTC

As a parent, it’s hard to watch yet another adaptation of Peter Pan without fixating on the fact that he essentially kidnaps children and leaves grieving parents (specifically mothers, constantly...

Review: ‘Outside the Lines’ at Arts on the Horizon

Arts on the Horizon is a non-profit theater company that provides a professional, safe, and interactive theater experience for children ages six and under. Known for their vibrant nonverbal...

Review: ‘Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.’ at Bravo Productions

Bravo Productions had their first of two productions in 2018 this past weekend. Fiddler on the Roof JR ran for four shows in two days to completely packed houses. The Junior musical is a condensed...

Review: ‘Seussical Jr.’ at ACCT

Having grown up on Dr. Seuss and having seen the 2008 Horton Hears a Who movie a dozen times, I feared Seussical Jr. (book by Leslie Aherns and Stephen Flaherty, based on the works of Dr. Seuss) might...

Review: ‘Duke Ellington’s Neighborhood’ from The In Series performing at Gala Hispanic Theatre

Engaging, sophisticated entertainment and education that didn’t talk down to the intended audience; children who may not have been familiar with the grand musical and cultural figure, DC’s very own...

Review: ‘Madagascar—A Musical Adventure’ at Red Branch Theatre Company

Chalk up one more cartoon feature making a dash for freedom under the footlights. Madagascar—A Musical Adventure is now filling the intimate Red Branch Theatre with a veritable Noah’s Ark of singing,...

Review: ‘Snow Day’ at Arts on the Horizon

Arts on the Horizon makes the most of a sparse, simple stage for their entertaining production of Rex Daugherty’s “Snow Day.” The performance starts with nothing more than a sheet spread across a...

Review: ‘Peter Pan’ at the Arden Theatre

Arden Children’s Theatre opens its 20th Anniversary Season with a delightful production of Peter Pan, adapted for the stage by Douglas Irvine, and based on J.M. Barrie’s books. Whit MacLaughlin...

Review: ‘Charlotte’s Web’ at Imagination Stage

If you’re on the lookout for an engaging, kid-friendly activity this holiday season, look no further than the classic tale of Charlotte’s Web at Imagination Stage. Based on the renowned children’s...

Review: ‘A Little Princess’ at Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theatre

Creative Cauldron’s Learning Theatre has put on an original version of Francis Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess. Ellen Selby, who co-directed the show, wrote the book, with music by Matt Conner and...

News: Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre Stages its 100th Production ‘Grease: School Version’

Thirty-seven years and more than 550 performances stand between Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theatre’s (MVCCT) first foray onto the stage with Winnie the Pooh in 1979 and their 100th production...