Photo Flash: First Look at Barrel of Monkeys' THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: THE MUSICAL

Barrel of Monkeys is pleased to bring back THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: THE MUSICAL, an all-musical revue featuring stories conceived and written by Chicago Public School students, adapted into songs and performed by Barrel of Monkeys Company Members and directed by Geoff Rice. THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: THE MUSICAL will play Sundays at 2 pm and Mondays at 8 pm from March 20 - April 11, 2016 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are available at www.barrelofmonkeys.org or by calling (773) 506-7140. The press performance is Monday, March 21 at 8 pm.

THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: THE MUSICAL will feature Elisa Carlson, Linsey Falls, Nick Hart, Jennifer Johnson, Spencer Meeks, Jon Schneidman, Kate Staiger, Brad Stevens, Mary Tilden, Jeff Trainor, Rawson Vint and Rachel Wilson.

Clever and funny - touching and poignant - the collection of short songs featured in THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: THE MUSICAL is equally entertaining for adults and children. Barrel of Monkeys, a Chicago-based arts education theater ensemble now in its 19th season, conducts creative writing workshops with 3rd through 5th grade students in underserved Chicago Public Schools. The ensemble of actor-educators then turns their stories and words into professionally performed theater, presented both in-school and for the general public through its revues. Barrel of Monkeys annually performs more than 300 student-written stories for the students in their schools and 175 stories on the stage for the general public.

Photo by Beth Bullock