'Flat Stanley' Offers Musical Adventures

You might be singing that reading is “flat out fun” after students from Sowams School present "The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley JR." tonight and Saturday night at the Barrington Middle School.

The musical is based on the award-winning children’s book, FLAT STANLEY, written by Jeff Brown and illustrated by Scott Nash.

"The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley JR." tells the story of a normal boy, Stanley Lambchop, who dreams of doing something amazing, something the world has never seen before. One night, Stanley is flattened like a pancake when a bulletin board falls on him in his sleep. He decides to make the most of being different and puts himself in a big envelope to travel the world as a human letter, according to Arts Alive!

“We selected this show because Sowams School incorporates a Flat Stanley project at the second-grade level; so, many students are familiar with the story and are excited to, literally, bring it to three-dimensional life,” said Pamela Morgan, director of the production.

Fifty-eight first- through third-grade Sowams students will whisk audience members away on a musical travelogue adventure that departs from Stanley’s hometown and takes them to Hollywood, where Stanley meets a famous Hollywood agent; then to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, where Stanley helps capture The Sneak Thieves; and on to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he plays a surfboard in a movie; and, finally, back home where Stanley says:

“What’s the point of doing amazing things the world’s never seen before if there’s nobody there to share it all with? I’m so happy to be back home!”

Musical numbers include “Meet the Lambchops,” “My Child Is Flat,” “Travelin’ Through the Mail,” “Talent,” “Surfin’ the Mail” and much more!

“Flat Stanley learns that the real reward of doing amazing things is being able to share those experiences with someone,” said Morgan, “which is not unlike the delightful experience of theater itself. This musical reminds each and every one of us to celebrate what makes us unique."

The FLAT STANLEY books inspired an educational program that has encouraged students from 47 countries  to explore subjects like reading, geography, social studies, English, visual arts, and multicultural studies in schools.

Children mail a Flat Stanley cut-out doll to another city where Stanley’s host records their adventures in a diary, which returns, with Stanley, to the student.

Both performances start at 7 pm. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door.

--Kirsten Davis