THE MUSICAL ADVENTURES OF FLAT STANLEY Opens April 10 at VYT

Phoenix, AZ – Starting April 10, Valley Youth Theatre (VYT) brings a children’s book character and the world’s most-famous pen pal project to life when it presents The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley.

“We love bringing the page to the stage,” said Producing Artistic Director Bobb Cooper. “It’s always fun to see how playwrights adapt these stories and for us to then find the perfect cast, build sets that suspend disbelief and design costumes that add dimension to the characters – or in Stanley’s case, two-dimensions.”

Award-winning actor Sam Primack (13-years-old) takes the lead as Flat Stanley – a boy who is flattened in his sleep by a bulletin board, but awakens to discover he can now travel by mail. This is not Primack’s first role based on an illustrated character. He played Jeremy in How I Became A Pirate and Wilbur the pig in Charlotte’s Web for VYT, as well as Pugsley in a national tour of The Addams Family Musical.

The cast consists of 18 actors, ages 12 to 16, who sing and dance their way through this musical based on the children’s book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. Seven of the cast members are from Phoenix, four each from Scottsdale and Chandler, two from Paradise Valley and one from Tempe; five are new to the VYT stage.

Sponsored by BBVA Compass, this family-friendly production is suitable for ages. It features pop culture references and a tap dance number, libretto by Timothy Allen McDonald, lyrics by McDonald and Jonathan K. Waller, and music by David Weinstein, Waller, McDonald and Stephen Gabriel.

Tickets to The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley are $20 and available by calling the VYT box office at 602.253.8188 x2 or ordering online at VYT.com.

Photo: Flat Stanley (Sam Primack), Hollywood Agent (Vincent Pugliese) and Hollywood Assistants (Alex Kirby, Hallie Reggio, Phoebe Koyabe, Jasmine Bassham)
Photo by Barry Smith