With Thanksgiving coming and going this week, it’s officially time for holiday shows to begin at area theaters. Know Theatre gets the jump this weekend with its regional premiere production of a quirky new script by John Olive, adapted from children’s books by Louis Sachar about the fictional Wayside School. The family-friendly show is about a school that has adjusted to a construction error: rather than having 30 classrooms side-by-side, they’re on top of each other, 30 stories high. Each floor has different qualities (except for the 19th, which is missing entirely).
Five students have skewed adventures and strange encounters as they get to know their school. The show is staged by guest director Jason Ballweber, part of Four Humors Theatre from Minneapolis, a company that has earned a big following with shows in the 2008 and 2009 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Sideways Stories was a big hit in the Twin Cities and it promises to be an entertaining evening for kids and adults. The production will be augmented by another Fringe regular, Pones, Inc., the dance company that’s the brainchild of Lindsey Jones and Kim Popa. All in all, this sounds like a promising — and unpredictable — opportunity for holiday entertainment.
All tickets are $12. Through Dec. 23.
Read Rick Pender's full review here as well as find showtimes and buy tickets.
