Hadestown: Teen Edition
By Anais Mitchell
November 15 to 17, 2024
Direction by Shanea N. Taylor
Auditions coming August 2024, open to 8th to 12th graders
Rehearsals begin September 16, 2024
This intriguing and beautiful folk opera delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience. Following two intertwining love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of immortal King Hades and Lady Persephone – Hadestown invites audiences on a hellraising journey to the underworld and back. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell’s beguiling sung-through musical pits industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Hadestown: Teen Edition is a full-length adaptation of Anaïs Mitchell’s international phenomenon Hadestown, modified for performance by teen actors for family audiences.
HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Corp. www.concordtheatricals.com
She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition
By Qui Nguyen
March 21 to 23, 2025
Direction by Heather Falks
Auditions coming fall of 2024, open to 8th to 12th graders
Rehearsals begin January 13, 2025
She Kills Monsters tells the story of high schooler Agnes Evans as she deals with the death of her younger sister, Tilly. When Agnes stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she finds herself catapulted into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was her sister’s refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and ’90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all.
Get a head start on audition prep with SPARC’s fall Stage Combat class!
She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Nickelodeon’s The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition
SummerStarz Tour, July 14 to 18, 2025
Auditions coming spring of 2025; open to rising 4th to 8th graders.
When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world. With lives hanging in the balance and all hope lost, a most unexpected hero rises up. The power of optimism really can save the world!
THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL: YOUTH EDITION is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com
Based on the series by Stephen Hillenburg
Book by Kyle Jarrow
Original Songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants, T.I
And Songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny & Andy Paley
Additional Lyrics by Jonathan Coulton
Additional Music by Tom Kitt
Musical Production Conceived by Tina Landau
©2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Created by Stephen Hillenburg.
…The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
Book by Joe Tracz
Music & Lyrics by Rob Rokicki
Adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
July 25 to 27, 2025
Direction by Katrinah Carol Lewis
Auditions coming spring of 2025; open to rising 6th graders to just-graduated seniors.
As the half-blood son of a Greek god, Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can’t control, a destiny he doesn’t want, and a mythology textbook’s worth of monsters on his trail. When Zeus’s master lightning bolt is stolen and Percy becomes the prime suspect, he has to find and return the bolt to prove his innocence and prevent a war between the gods. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the thief. He must travel to the Underworld and back; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and come to terms with the father who abandoned him. Adapted from the best-selling book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical is an action-packed mythical adventure “worthy of the gods” (Time Out New York).
THE LIGHTNING THIEF is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com
Original Works Season
Each season, SPARC produces a series of youth-written, devised shows with a focus on centering the voices of the participants in our programming.
Spectrum shares the stories of the LGBTQ+ youth community. Live Art is an expression of SPARC’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, bringing neurodiverse and disabled youth to the mic. New Voices, our state-wide playwrighting competition, gives youth from across Virginia a chance to author their own one-acts that are then workshopped and brought to life with the help of Richmond professionals.
Check back throughout the year to learn more about these shows as they are developed!
- Spectrum, SPARC’s Queer Youth Ensemble, performances February 28 and March 1, 2025
- Live Art, performance on Saturday, May 17, 2025
- New Voices for the Theater Festival of New Works, July 2025
SPARC’s 2023/2024 Performance Season
Seussical Jr.
SummerStarz is back!
Touring July 15-19, 2024
Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, and he must also guard an abandoned egg that’s been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant!
Public Performance Schedule:
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Tuesday, July 16 at 2PM at the Children’s Museum of Richmond ($9 museum entry required)
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Tuesday, July 16 at 6PM at SPARC (limited seating, ticket reservation required)
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Wednesday, July 17 at 10AM at Henrico Theatre
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Wednesday, July 17 at 1PM at Henrico Theatre
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Friday, July 19 at 1PM at Robinson Theater
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Friday, July 19 at 6PM at SPARC (limited seating, ticket reservation required)
New Voices for the Theater
34th Annual Festival of New Works
July 27, 2024 at 2PM and 4PM
In-person staged readings premiere at SPARC’s Sara Belle November Educational Theater
New Voices for the Theater, SPARC’s nationally acclaimed statewide high school playwriting competition for Virginia students in grades 9-12, has celebrated and cultivated young writing talent from across Virginia for the last thirty-four years.
This year, eight high school students from across Virginia will be selected to attend a two-week playwriting intensive workshop to hone the craft of playwriting. As a culmination of their work, SPARC’s New Voices for the Theater program will produce four of the plays that are involved in the workshop. The Playwrights-in-Production and their Peer Playwrights will be working with professional theatre directors to produce plays for the stage alongside student stage managers and student actors.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
Part of Dogwood Dell’s 2024 Festival of the Arts
August 16 and 17, 2024 at 7PM at Dogwood Dell
FREE performances!
Based on The Comic Strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
Book, Music and Lyrics by Clark Gesner
Additional Dialogue by Michael Mayer
Additional Music and Lyrics by Andrew Lippa
Happiness is great musical theatre! With charm, wit, and heart, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown explores life through the eyes of Charlie Brown and his friends in the Peanuts gang. This revue of songs and vignettes, based on the beloved Charles Schulz comic strip, is a classic favorite. Musical numbers include “My Blanket and Me,” “The Kite,” “The Baseball Game,” “Little Known Facts,” “Suppertime,” and “Happiness.” Guaranteed to please audiences of all ages!
Previously in Our Season
Urinetown
February 16-25
In a Gotham-like city, a terrible water shortage, caused by a 20-year drought, has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens must use public amenities, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. Amid the people, a hero decides that he’s had enough and plans a revolution to lead them all to freedom!
Spectrum
SPARC’s LQBTQIA+ and Allies Ensemble
March 22-24
Over the course of 24 weeks, the youth of Spectrum work to devise a brand-new piece of theatre that tells their stories. During the year, youth explore and embrace a wide variety of artistic methods to inform and inspire their original performance. A show title and description will be shared to this page once the youth have written their piece! This show will be student-written and student-designed.
Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Jr.
Presented by Showstoppers
April 18-20
Tickets to Matilda will be prioritized for Showstoppers participants and family members.
Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the “revolting children” who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson.
Live Art
May 18
Live Art is a neurodiverse community of youth with and without disabilities. Each year the Live Art faculty and youth artists work together to create a performance piece that blends art forms and poses questions about our world. In sharing their creations and perspectives with the public, the youth artists of Live Art advocate for a world that is accessible, inclusive, and kind.