Orlando Family Stage 24-25 Season Announcement

Orlando Family Stage is thrilled to announce its 2024 – 2025 season. Founded in 1926, Orlando Family Stage is the eighth iteration of the original theatre company and has operated for over 20 years as Florida’s only professional theatre for young audiences. 

Orlando Family Stage’s season is an exciting lineup of shows for audiences of all ages. In chronological order, the season is as follows: 

The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition (A Youth Academy Production)                 

July 19 – 28, 2024

P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical

September 3 – 22, 2024

Theatre for the Very Young: Yo, Ho, Ho! Let’s Go! 

September 25 – October 20, 2024

Junie B. Jones in BOO… and I Mean It!

September 30 – November 1, 2024

Pip-Squeak: An Anti-Bullying Magic Show

October 15 – 18, 2024 

Girls in the Boat (A Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation)

November 14-15, 2024 

A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage

November 11 – December 29, 2024

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever The Musical (A Youth Academy Production)

December 6 – 8, 2024

Dragons Love Tacos The Musical 

February 3 – March 9, 2025

Rosaline Wrecked It All (A Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation)

March 6 – 7, 2025

Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical 

March 10 – April 20, 2025

Theatre for the Very Young: Dinosaur Dance Party

April 12 – May 9, 2025

Cyrano de Burger Shack (A Youth Academy Production)

May 2 – 4, 2025

General auditions for the season are by video submission only. Callbacks will be in person. Audition information will be available at orlandofamilystage.com/get-involved/auditions on June 25. The deadline to submit is August 2, 2024. Fall Youth Academy classes are now on sale on our website, and auditions sign-ups are open for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical.

Orlando Family Stage’s season officially commences in July with The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition (July 19 – 28, 2024). Are ya ready, kids? Our Summer Youth Academy production dives into the undersea town of Bikini Bottom in this dynamic musical with songs from music’s most exciting artists. Chaos erupts when Bikini Bottom faces the threat of total annihilation from the volcanic Mt. Humongous. Just when all hope seems lost, an unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage. The power of optimism really can save the world!

P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical (September 3 – 22, 2024) kicks off the lineup of professional productions. This contemporary adaptation of Pinocchio is set in Hip-Hopia where G.Petto is a video game designer, and one of his character designs, P.Nokio, magically comes to life. With the help of the Graffiti Fairy, he teaches P.Nokio how to become a real boy. Armed with the Book of Rhymes, G.Petto sends P.Nokio to The Old School to master style, originality, and swagger. However, we know from the original story that P.Nokio is led astray, but he has to wise up, keep it real, and learn that words and truth are the mightiest tools of all. This story centers around family, creativity, individuality, and growing up in a confounding world. Book and lyrics by Psalmayene 24 and Music by Nick tha 1Da. 

Theatre for the Very Young productions return with an encore of Yo, Ho, Ho! Let’s Go! (September 25 – October 20, 2024). Written by Jennifer Adams-Carrasquillo, this show is a 30-minute adventure with a pirate on the high seas following a treasure map! Parrots, crabs, mermaids, and more join the fun. Theatre for the Very Young is created specifically for 1 to 5-year-olds and is an interactive, multi-sensory, developmentally accessible experience that encourages caregiver interaction and creative play.

Junie B. Jones in BOO …and I Mean It! A Halloween Adventure (September 30 – November 1, 2024), is a brand-new Junie B. Jones escapade, written just for Orlando Family Stage as a world-premiere production. The ever-lovable (yet quite a handful) Junie B. has a slight problem – she’s a bit afraid of Halloween! Are there real witches and monsters amongst the trick-or-treaters? Do bats really nest in your hair? What exactly is candy corn? However, before the big night, Junie B. plans to win all the games and prizes at the school carnival, hoping that will arm her with all the courage and bravery she needs! By Allison Gregory and adapted from Barbara Park’s Junie B., First Grader Boo…and I Mean It! and Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake. New play development at Orlando Family Stage is made possible with the support of Kiwanis Club of Orlando.

Pip-Squeak: An Anti-Bullying Magic Show (October 15 – 18, 2024), featuring award-winning magician Tony Brent, returns for its 14th year! Because of his small size as a child, Tony was bullied in the cafeteria, in the gymnasium, on the playground and generally anywhere there were no adults present. Now using comedy, amazing magic tricks, juggling, and a coat-rack loaded with costumes, Tony gently and humorously teaches children how to cope with being bullied. In addition, children learn to recognize the signs of bullying and whether or not they themselves might be guilty of bullying. Tony portrays various people from his childhood and role-plays with children about various ways they could respond if they or a friend are bullied.  

Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation: Girls in the Boat (November 14 – 15, 2024). Girls in the Boat was inspired by the true stories of the U.S. women’s Olympic rowing team. A group of smart, fiery young women fight discrimination to compete in the male-dominated sport of rowing. Against the rhythm of their oars, these women forge bonds and overcome disagreements in their search for greatness. They literally pull together to reach their goals in a fast-paced drama that reminds us of what we can all do if we have a common purpose. As our heroines break barriers of race and gender, their newly minted U.S. women’s rowing team goes on to become the most winning sports team in American history. Written by Alice Austin.

Kicking off the holiday season is A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage (November 11 – December 29, 2024). Be a part of something very special at Orlando Family Stage this holiday season as this beloved classic is live on stage! Adapted from Charles M. Schulz’s timeless Peanuts cartoons and featuring the music of Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage is a gift the whole family can enjoy. Join Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and the Peanuts gang as they sing, dance, and most importantly, learn the true meaning of Christmas! This production is presented in conjunction with Gershwin Entertainment. By Charles M. Schulz, Based on the television special by Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson. 

The holiday season continues with our Youth Academy production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever The Musical (December 6 – 8, 2024). The Herdmans are the worst kids in the history of the world–so when they crash Sunday school and demand parts in the Christmas pageant, the whole town panics. It is up to Grace and the Reverend to help their community see the Christmas story and the Herdman kids through new eyes in this buoyant musical adaptation of the funny and touching holiday classic about extending kindness to those in need, including the outcasts, and looking for humanity in even our worst enemies. Silent night? Not a chance! But, sometimes a little joyful noise is just right for Christmas. Adapted from the book by Barbara Robinson, book and lyrics by Jahnna Beecham, music and lyrics by Malcom Hillgartner.

Dragons Love Tacos The Musical (February 3 – March 9, 2025) takes the stage as our first professional production of the New Year. In this deliciously funny new musical, based on the #1 New York Times bestselling phenomenon, you will learn that dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So, if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos! Where there are tacos, there is also salsa. Beware, if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa… oh boy, you are in red-hot trouble!   Adapted from the best-selling book, Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri. Script by Cristina Pippa and music and lyrics by Sharon Kenny.

Teen Perspectives Lab Presentation: Rosaline Wrecked It All (March 6- 7, 2025). Romeo and Juliet are dead. It was a terrible tragedy, and everyone blames Rosaline. If only she had gone to that party, the star-crossed lovers would never have met, and all would be well in Verona. But she did not, and they did, and so now it is not—and everyone blames her. With expulsion from Fair Verona Prep a day away, Rosaline and her two best friends race to clear her name. This modern-day sequel to Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet explores peer pressure, social cliques, and how we move on after a tragedy. Will the search for the truth yield answers that no one—not even Rosaline—was expecting? By Stephen Kaplan.

Rounding out our professional production lineup is Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Musical (March 10 – April 20, 2025). The phenomenon created by Jeff Kinney comes to Orlando Family Stage! Middle School, ugh. It’s the worst. Greg is determined NOT to be at the bottom of the popularity chart. He’ll leave that to his weird neighbor Fregley, or, maybe Greg’s best friend, Rowley Jefferson. But it’s not going to be Greg … no way. Will Greg’s plans lead him to sacrifice his one true friend? Can anyone avoid the dreaded Cheese Touch? Grab a hall pass, and don’t be late for an adventure familiar to anyone who survived middle school with this hilarious and heartfelt musical. Book by Kevin Del Aguila, music and lyrics by Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler . Based on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series by Jeff Kinney and the 20th Century Fox Films. 

Theatre for the Very Young continues with Dinosaur Dance Party (April 12 – May 9, 2025), written by Jennifer Adams-Carrasquillo, a 30-minute celebration of dinosaurs, music, and movement. Get ready to party, because everyone knows dinosaurs love to dance! Theatre for the Very Young at Orlando Family Stage is created specifically for 1 to 5-year-olds and is an interactive, multi-sensory, developmentally accessible experience encouraging caregiver interaction and creative play.  

Our Spring Youth Academy production is Cyrano de Burger Shack (May 2 – 4, 2025). The Cyrano story is told in a whole new way! Like the hit Broadway show & Juliet, this musical takes popular songs from the 80s to 2000s and mashes them up to tell the story of Cyrano, the king of the local Burger Shack who can’t seem to win the love of his best friend, Roxanne. When Roxanne confesses her crush on the new burger-flipper, Christian, Cyrano decides that playing Cupid is better than sitting out of the game. An updated, modern-day version of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, this rollicking musical features hit songs from such artists as Pink, The Go-Gos, Bruno Mars, Carly Rae Jepsen, Madonna, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, and more that will have audiences cheering. It is full of fun, some action, a ton of humor, and the timeless lesson of looking beyond what is on the outside and seeing the real person inside. Written by Jeremy Desmon, adapted from the play by Edmond Rostand. 

Orlando Family Stage will launch a yet-to-be-titled touring production as part of its new MicheLee Puppet Initiative, centered on themes of bullying and understanding. OFS will also participate in the annual event UCF Celebrates the Arts.  

Memberships are on sale now. To learn more about Orlando Family Stage’s upcoming programming, both on and offstage, visit orlandofamilystage.com or call 407-896-7365. Orlando Family Stage is a three-theatre complex located in Loch Haven Park at 1001 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

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Orlando Family Stage – Orlando Family Stage is a professional theatre with a mission to empower young people to be brave and empathetic by creating quality theatrical experiences. The award-winning Youth Academy provides classes and camps for students, along with professional development opportunities for teachers. Housed in a three-theatre complex in Orlando’s Loch Haven Park, Orlando Family Stage is also home to the University of Central Florida’s MFA in Theatre for young Audiences graduate program. Orlando Family Stage exists on the traditional land of the Timicua and Seminole peoples past and present. With gratitude, we honor the land itself and its stewards throughout the generations. Orlando Family Stage is Florida’s only professional Theatre for Young Audiences.

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