Mainstage Season

“Capture The Moon”

NOVEMBER 23 & 24, 2024

By Ernest Joselovitz and Harry Michael Bagdasian. Adapted from the Jewish folktales of Chelm.

Capture the Moon, based on the traditional Yiddish tales of Chelm, portrayed as a mythical Eastern European shtetl, its people being awfully poor, very devout, thoroughly democratic (just about anything could justify a town meeting), and of a uniquely innocent way of thinking and acting. The play spotlights this poor village’s humorous attempt to solve a streetlighting problem by capturing the moon and harnessing moonlight. The failure of the first attempt (to capture and store the moonlight in a barrel of water) forces them to seek the help of the neighboring Christian village to climb their church steeple (almost) up to the moon. With their neighbors’ cooperation, the Chelmites then must journey through the surrounding Christian countryside in search of the moon at its lowest point on the horizon. On this journey, they become aware of their “differentness,” and they are finally appreciated for it. Capture the Moon offers, in children’s terms, interesting elements of Jewish history. More than that, though, it is a play about a common devoutness that encourages mutual respect, respect for different ways of thinking and imagining.

Gotta Be Me, a partner organization also providing all abilities program for peo-ple with disabilities and their families, will be the opening act for the “Grimm Tales” performances. Gotta Be Me actors will tell the story of the “Town Musicians of Bremen”, a Grimm tale based on the account of the German storyteller Dorothea Viehmann (1755-1815). This is the story of four aging domestic an-imals, who after a lifetime of hard work leave their farms to become musicians in Bremen and enjoy life. However, they find a den of thieves and decide to outsmart them. Munroe Meyer Institute acting interns will shadow
highlights of the performance.

“Wizard of Oz: Young Performers Edition”

April 6th and 7 2025

L. Frank Baum’s beloved story of a young girl’s adventure in a magical land has been entertaining audiences for over a century. MGM’s blockbuster 1939 film adaptation, featuring the timeless songs of Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, along with the brilliant instrumental music of Herbert Stothart, elevated the popular novel to even greater heights. This stage adaptation, featuring the characters and celebrated songs from the film, brings the wondrous Land of Oz to life in a jubilant theatrical experience.

Join Dorothy and her loyal companion Toto as they “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” through the Land of Oz, determined to reach the Emerald City, where the great and powerful Wizard of Oz will help them get home. Of course, along the way, Dorothy encounters witches (both good and bad), Munchkins, talking trees and winged monkeys. But most importantly, she befriends three unique characters: a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man with no heart, and a Lion with no “nerve.” Their journey to happiness – and self-awareness – is a glowing testament to friendship, understanding and hope in a world filled with both beauty and ugliness.