Two young storytellers, with the help of an ensemble of actors, take the stage and begin to weave the tale of Esperanza — a wealthy Mexican girl whose privileged existence is shattered when tragedy strikes, and she and her mother must flee to California. Forced to work in a migrant labor camp, Esperanza must learn to rise above her difficult circumstances and discover what she's truly made of. Set in the turbulent 1930s, and based on the popular book by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Esperanza Rising is a poetic tale of a young girl's triumph over adversity.

A hilarious and heartwarming production following the chronicles of Dog Man, who with the head of a dog and the body of a policeman, loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture. But while trying his best to be a good boy, can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on the doggy do-gooder? And will George and Harold finish their show before lunchtime??

Dog Man: The Musical is a co-presentation between First Stage and the Marcus Performing Arts Center.

ACADEMY PRODUCTION LAB PERFORMANCE PROJECT

By Finegan Kruckemeyer

"Some kids, they can only read so many stories... before they decide they wanna make their own.” In a Gothamesque city, where the shadows are long and the deals are shady, four kids face off against something a whole lot bigger than four kids. An homage to the great noir detective stories, The Great Ignored sees child-sized protagonists left to clean up an adult-sized town.