THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE Opens 3/6 at Firehouse Arts Center

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, March 6 - 15. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $6-$18, available at www.firehousearts.org, 925-931-4848, or at the Firehouse Arts Center Box Office, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton, CA. If not sold out, tickets are also available 2 hours prior to the performance at the box office

The show is being directed by Rachel Robinson, with Assistant Direction from Salim Razawi. This is their 6th collaboration with the City of Pleasanton. The two casts are appropriately named the Magnificent Cast and the Valiant Cast. Each cast is made up of twenty young actors who range in age from 9-16.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is perhaps one of the most timeless stories in our canon. One of the beautiful things about producing this play with young actors, is that they bring fresh perspectives and energy to the tale. I was also particularly excited about this play because the four main protagonists - siblings, Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter - are actually age appropriate roles for our actors. As usual, we were impressed by the level of talent and professionalism at the auditions. We were fortunate to have an abundance of excellent options when casting, and ended up with a wonderful blend of new and returning students.

With this play, we had the luxury of being able to do a lot of analysis and character development. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe raises many questions: What is Narnia? How far would you go to protect your sibling? Who wins in the battle of Good vs. Evil? It is a sophisticated story, which are actors are telling with ease and honesty.