September 9-October 19, 2025
Best enjoyed by Everyone 8 and Up!
Every child is different and may or may not be ready for certain elements of each production—Read more about this show’s age recommendation below!
Set Sail for Treasure Island at Children’s Theatre Company
The sea is calling! Join young Jim Hawkins on a bold, ensemble‑driven story of adventure, high stakes, and transformation—filled with pirates, sword fights, live music, and theatrical magic. In this classic tale, you’ll witness a coming-of-age tale rich in mentorship, courage, and teamwork—think The Goonies meets The Outsiders.
An ensemble of actors takes the audience from inn to ship to island through live music and inventive staging. Sea shanties and songs by Darren Kiely aren’t recorded—they are sung and played on stage, reshaping each shift in location into a shared emotional journey. Expertly choreographed swordplay adds thrilling intensity, building to Jim’s pivotal stand against Long John Silver. This isn’t just theatre—it’s a shared adventure, leaving you transfixed and inspired.
Adapted for the Stage by Stuart Paterson
Directed by Rick Dildine
Audience Guide
At CTC, our mission is to create extraordinary theatre experiences that educate, challenge, and inspire young people and their communities. This Audience Guide is just one of the ways in which we aim to enhance your experience and further your engagement with the shows on stage. It includes a summary, context, fun facts, and activities plus details that can help you decide what’s right for your kids.
Your Adventure Starts in the Lobby!
Step into the world of Treasure Island before the curtain even rises. The lobby opens one hour before every performance—and the adventure starts right away! Come early for free photo ops and hands-on activities:
- Visit the Tattoo Parlor for your own version of Long John Silver’s iconic ink
- Learn to tie sailors’ knots (and take a few home to keep practicing)
- Strike a pose at the giant ship’s wheel
- Test your wit with a Sea Shanty Mad Lib
Pirate costumes are welcome! But please leave all weapons—even toy ones—at home.
Autograph Nights
Fridays, September 19-October 17 (after the show)
On Friday nights following opening, stick around to meet members of the cast and have your program signed—an unforgettable keepsake from your voyage!
Music
Feel the Emotion that Darren Kiely’s “Sunrise” Brings to the Top of the Show
Darren Kiely’s moving “Sunrise” underscores the opening of Treasure Island. His music, along with that of other artists, inspired the songs you’ll hear performed live on stage by our ensemble.
“The show opens with Jim sitting oceanside with his stack of books reading about far-off adventures. He magically reaches into the book on top, pulls out a tiny boat, and drops it into the water hoping something miraculous will happen. He’s ‘waiting for a sunrise’… wanting something more. What emerges from the water dramatizes the very act of a young person’s imagination and celebrates the spirit of our show.” -Rick Dildine, Director
Set Renderings
By Christopher Swader and Justin Swader
Evoking both a ship and a library—two timeless symbols of adventure—the set merges these worlds in a design that invites audiences to set sail on an unforgettable journey. We’ll glide seamlessly from the warmth of the inn to the creaking ship’s deck, battle through a fierce storm at sea, plunge into the wild heart of the island’s jungle, and be thrust into a mutinous fight at the stockade.
Cast and Creative Team
CAST
CREATIVE TEAM
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The 2025-2026 Season
Treasure Island
September 9–October 19, 2025
Best Enjoyed by Everyone 8 and Up!
UnitedHealth Group Stage
The sea is calling! Join this swashbuckling adventure to sail the open seas alongside young Jim and search for buried treasure in between sword fights and rounds of live music!
Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile The Musical
October 1–November 23, 2025
Best for All Ages!
Cargill Stage
The Enormous Crocodile is weaving his way through the jungle with his tummy rumbling… Get to know all of the creatively puppeted creatures in the U.S. premiere of this smash U.K. hit.
Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
November 4, 2025–January 4, 2026
Best for All Ages!
UnitedHealth Group Stage
In this CTC holiday favorite, filled with music and Seussian rhymes, everyone’s favorite grouchy, green Grinch plots the greatest heist imaginable—stealing the very thing the joyful Whos love the most!
Go, Dog. Go! • Ve Perro ¡Ve!
January 20–February 22, 2026
Best for younger audiences!
UnitedHealth Group Stage
Dogs are everywhere! Roller-skating, playing baseball, driving race cars, and speaking—in Spanish and English! Sing along with this bilingual spectacle that makes no sense (and TOTAL sense) at the same time!
Forts! An Interactive Experience
February 13–April 5, 2026
Best for All Ages!
Cargill Stage
An interactive experience! Imagine you’re surrounded by towering towers of cardboard boxes in the coolest attic you’ve ever seen. What will you build? In Forts! you make it all happen.
Dinosaur World Live
March 3–April 5, 2026
Best Enjoyed by Everyone 3 and Up!
UnitedHealth Group Stage
Dinosaurs take over CTC! This extraordinary experience has wowed kids and adults all over the world. Careful: you never know who (or what!) you’ll run into after the show…
The Wizard of Oz
April 21–June 14, 2026
Best for All Ages!
UnitedHealth Group Stage
It’s not every day that a wild tornado whizzes over your head, or the world magically shifts from black and white to technicolor! Don’t miss this grand spectacle, featuring songs from the classic film.
Proudly sponsored by
Bill and Jane Johnson, Noreen Charitable Trust
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