CHARLOTTE'S WEB to Open at Main Street Theater, 4/20

Main Street Theater's next Theater for Youth production is E.B. White's loving, delightful, and truly profound Charlotte's Web (adapted for the stage by Joseph Robinette). All of MST's Theater for Youth productions are based on children's literature.
Charlotte's Web performs Saturdays, April 20 - May 18 at 1pm and 4pm at Main Street Theater-Chelsea Market, 4617 Montrose Boulevard in the Museum District.

Ticket prices for public performances are $12 - $16. Tickets are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office at 2540 Times Blvd. in Rice Village, via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at mainstreettheater.com. Group rates are available.
Special performances and rates are available for school matinees. Call 713.524.9196 ext 101 or visit the website.

The beloved story of a spider named Charlotte who devises a plan to save her friend, Wilbur, the pig. Charlotte's Web has received numerous awards including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1970 for its message of friendship, loyalty and miracles. Recommended for Pre-Kindergarten and up. No children under 3 allowed in the theater (including sleeping babies).

Page to Stage Book Club Meeting: On Saturday, April 27, MST will hold its Page to Stage book club meeting at the Blue Willow Bookshop at 10am. The club will be meeting 6 times over the course of the season to talk about the books the MST Theater for Youth plays are based on, meet characters from the books, have a snack, make crafts, and hear a reading from the book.
Children can bring their own copy of the book or purchase it at a discount at Blue Willow (located at 14532 Memorial Drive (at Dairy Ashford)). To RSVP for the book club, send an email to vstjohn@mainstreettheater.com.

About E.B. White and Charlotte's Web: E. B. White, the author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine. E.B. White authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973. In addition to writing children's books, E. B. White also wrote books for adults, as well as writing poems and essays, and drawing sketches for The New Yorker magazine. Some of his other books include: One Man's Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner, Letters of E. B. White, The Essays of E. B. White, and Poems and Sketches of E. B. White.

Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making "a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."

He died on October 1, 1985, and is survived by his son and three grandchildren.

During his lifetime, many young readers asked Mr. White if his stories were true. In a letter written to be sent to his fans, he answered, "No, they are imaginary tales... But real life is only one kind of life - there is also the life of the imagination."

Mr. White lived on a farm in Maine where he kept animals, and some of these creatures made their way into his stories and books, like Stuart in Stuart Little, or Charlotte in Charlotte's Web. After all, as E.B. White said, "I like animals, and my barn is a very pleasant place to be, at all hours!"

How did E. B. White think up the story for Charlotte's Web? "I had been watching a big grey spider at her work and was impressed by how clever she was at weaving. Gradually I worked the spider into the story that you know, a story of friendship and salvation on a farm." (Scholastic.com)

Main Street's Production: Daria Allen is the Director. The cast includes Brittny Bush, Chioke Coreathers, Kyle Curry, Katie Harrison, Alan Hall, and Nick Thomas. The design team includes Jodi Bobrovsky (set design), Eric L. Marsh (lighting design), Macy Perrone (costume design), Shawn W. St. John (sound design), and Rodney Walsworth (properties design). Kevin Zahradnik is the Production Stage Manager.

Main Street Theater was founded in 1975. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market. Our MainStage is in its 38th season and its 13th season operating under an Actors' Equity Association union contract. The MainStage features new works (including numerous world and regional premieres), rediscovered classics, passionate revivals, works by female playwrights, and neglected musicals in the intimate setting of our Rice Village location. Our Theater for Youth is Houston's most-attended theater for young audiences, serving over 130,000 children and families from the greater Houston area in school performances, weekend family matinees and tours to schools and community centers across the state of Texas. Plays are selected based on literature children are reading at home or at school. Our Education Department offers students a performing arts playground where professional theater artists serve as mentors. In support of Main Street Theater's mission, our Education Department provides a significant resource in the community for education in theater and classical theater for children, families and educators and provides classes and camps (on and off-site) as well as programs in residential treatment facilities for Harris County youth.

Main Street Theater is a founding member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, which recently merged with Spacetaker here in Houston, a founding member of Houston Arts Partners, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors' Equity Association and of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (formerly ASSITEJ), the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people.