Jorgensen Center Welcomes MAGIC SCHOOL BUS- LIVE, 3/11

The kids in Ms. Frizzle's class are putting on a play about global warming, and they need some cold, hard facts. So, the Friz and her reptilian sidekick, Liz, take them on a climate challenge field trip, in musical form, that reaches from the Arctic to the Equator, in two matinees, Sunday, March 11, at 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

The Magic School Bus is in its 25th year of delighting young audiences with an array of educational adventures, all aboard a school-sanctioned vehicle. On this whirlwind tour, the class and the audience will see telltale signs of climate change and learn how conservation, recycling and alternative energy can make a difference.

Along the way, the class will learn the values of cooperation, teamwork, communication and observation in their study of science, weather and the environment. The lessons are geared to the young, but easily go beyond the grade-school level.

The Maximum Entertainment and Bay Area Children's Theatre production is based on the popular book series by Joanna Cole and illustrator Bruce Degen, a Connecticut resident. Inspired by great teachers themselves, they have created fantastic journeys – to the bottom of the ocean, the eye of a hurricane and the center of the Earth – all under Ms. Frizzle's guidance. More than 58 million "Magic School Bus" books are in print.

Tracy Ward, who directed a national tour of "Strega Nona," is director, and Broadway composer and playwright Scott Elmegreen wrote the music and lyrics. Doug Cooney, award-winning children's playwright, wrote the book.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $13 for adults and $11 for children. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon–Fri at 860.486.4226, or order online at: jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.