MEDIA THEATRE ENTERS MEDIEVAL TIMES WITH SECOND 'MAGIC TREE HOUSE' MUSICAL

The Media Theatre presents the Philadelphia regional premiere of the second “Magic Tree House” musical in March, April, and May. This one is titled “Knight At Dawn” and

continues the saga of young siblings Jack and Annie who, in Mary Pope Osborne’s extremely popular book series, travel back in time to different eras after climbing a ladder to a tree house that takes them wherever their finger lands in books.

The Media Theatre had the regional premiere last season of the first of the book series musicals, “Dinosaurs Before Dark”, which went on to win Broadway World’s 2014 Award for “Best Special Event” in Philadelphia. It became the Media Music Theatre Company’s second best-selling children’s series production of all time.

In the second musical, “Magic Tree House: Knight At Dawn”, Jack and Annie journey to the Middle Ages and learn the power of hope. As they read a book about knights, Annie is intrigued by the Black Knight and the mysterious quest he says one must successfully complete before becoming a knight. When she wishes to visit the castle in the book, the siblings are whisked away to medieval times and set off to learn more about the Black Knight and his quest. Through their adventure, the two discover the power of hope and the true meaning of gallantry.

Audiences had the pleasure of visiting with dinosaurs a year ago, and now in the second show based on Osborne’s series of books, audiences ages 4 and up will travel back in time to meet The Black Knight, a Jester, Minstrels, and many other interesting characters.

“Magic Tree House: Knight At Dawn” has plenty of humor, lots of heart, and lessons aplenty. Songs in the second musical include “How Far Can You See?” which also opened the previous show in the series. New titles featured are “The Apple Song”, “Mustache, Squinty, and Red”, “Welcome To The Dungeon”, and “A Light In The Dark”.

The roles of Jack and Annie are double cast, with Glen Mills’ Jaydin Knight and Havertown’s Ben Pedersen sharing the role of Jack while Media’s Jolie Jaffe and Coatesville’s Brynn Washbourne take on the part of Annie. All are New School students with Media Music Theatre Company.

Media Theatre stage veteran Roger Ricker plays the Jester, with Tim Haney scaring up laughs as The Black Knight. Father and son Henry O’ Neill and Sean O’ Neill appear in their first show together (Henry, a Ridley Township policeman, portrays the World’s Oldest Prisoner while his 7 year old son Sean is a guard). The O’ Neills have appeared in Media Theatre productions previously, but not in the same cast.

The entire cast, with 25 youth actors playing various roles, can be found on Media Theatre News, the Media Music Theatre Company’s blog which, as of February 1, has had over 100,000 views in the past year and a half.

“Magic Tree House: Knight At Dawn” is on stage every weekend March 7 through May 24 (Saturdays at 11am and Sundays at Noon). There are four special Friday performances at 9:45am for schools, students, or home-school or pre-school children (March 6, April 17, May 8, May 15). For tickets and group rates, call 610-891-0100 or visit mediatheatre.org

Pictured: Ben Pedersen and Jaydin Knight, who share the role of Jack in “Magic Tree House: Knight At Dawn”, with actresses Brynn Washbourne (left) and Jolie Jaffe who share the role of Annie. All are New School students at The Media Theatre.

Second Photo: Carter Weiss, Michael Wells, and Sean O’ Neill who play Red, Mustache, and Squinty, the castle guards.

Third Photo:Two actors from the same family: 7 year old Sean O’ Neill with his father Henry O’ Neill (who is older than 7). It’s their first time sharing the stage together in a production.