Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC), educating and inspiring new generations of theater artists and audiences with exceptional theatrical experiences, brings to the stage universal themes that connect and unite us with its 2025/26 season, Timeless Tales. Featuring almost entirely new productions to the Adventure Theatre MTC stage, this season offers valuable insights into the human condition and provides narrative connections within ATMTC’s existing community.
Setting the stage this Fall with nursery rhymes gone awry is former Artistic Director Michael Bobbitt’s newest play with long-time collaborator Sandy Eskin, Not Your Mother’s Goose (October 3-November 2, 2025). Next, get ready for the classic Adventure Theatre MTC production, Frosty The Snow Man (November 26, 2025-January 11, 2026), sure to spread festive cheer. Then gear up for a February full of music with Freckleface Strawberry (February 13–March 29, 2026), celebrating self-love and acceptance. Morals meet madcap adventure in Aesop’s Fables (April 24-May 24, 2026), introducing tales like The Tortoise and the Hare to a new generation. ATMTC closes its Timeless Tales season with founding Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, Janet Stanford’s musical, Sleeping Beauty: The Time Traveler, directed by Janet Stanford (June 18-August 23, 2026).
Says Kurt Boehm, Adventure Theatre MTC Artistic Director, “This season really furthers the universal themes of children developing emotional resilience and understanding their own identities through our own folly. We are taking the time to look to the past to self-reflect on where we’ve been and how we’re going to move forward. This season, Adventure is thrilled to bring back some of our favorite directors including Serge Seiden, Shanara Gabrielle, and Ray Ficca in addition to welcoming new artists Janet Stanford and Danny Tippett. We learned so much in our 2024/25 season, and we’re expanding on that knowledge as we head toward our 75th anniversary.”
To kick off the season, Helen Hayes Award Recipient and Mosaic Theater Managing Director Serge Seiden will direct the world premiere play, Not Your Mother’s Goose, written by the collaborative team that brought us Make Way for Ducklings, Jumanji, and the international Just A Dream: The Green Play, former Artistic Director Michael J. Bobbitt and Sandra Eskin. This high-energy, laugh-out-loud romp leads audiences through Gooseville, full of clever wordplay, wild schemes, and magical mishaps, where nursery rhymes come to life — and fall apart.
This holiday Adventure Theatre welcomes back the classic, Frosty The Snow Man, by William Francis, which first danced around ATMTC’s stage in 2008. This slice of holiday fun, directed by Danny Tippett, will bring smiles to kids and snowmen alike.
In 2026, we celebrate love and self-acceptance with the musical, Freckleface Strawberry, an adaptation of the book by Academy Award Winning actress, Julianne Moore and illustrated by LeUyen Pham, brought to life by Helen Hayes Award, Kevin Kline Award, and Critic’s Circle Award nominee, Shanara Gabrielle, in a story about learning to love ourselves as we see and love what makes others different to us. Gabrielle most recently co-directed 2024’s Helen Hayes-nominated The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Adventure delights classic literature enthusiasts with Aesop’s Fables, directed by Ray Ficca. Based on moral tales, this collection of four of Aesop’s stories uses warmth and wit to reflect old and new generations with their unique blend of simplicity and deep meaning. Ficca recently directed the incredibly popular 5-week sell-out production of Dragons Love Tacos.
The season concludes with the musical Sleeping Beauty: The Time Traveler, loosely based on the fairy tale The Brothers Grimm’s Briar Rose. Directed and written by Harold Oaks Award for Sustained Excellence in TYA award-winner, Janet Stanford, this show about freedom, courage, and magic will be a sure ticket to a 2026 summer adventure.
Single tickets are $26-28 each, with group and field trip rates available. Flexpasses, a book of 10 tickets, applicable to any show in the 2025-2026 season, are currently on sale for $185. All performances will take place at Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD, 20812 in the historic Glen Echo Park. For more information about Adventure Theatre MTC, call 301-634-2270 or visit www.adventuretheatre-mtc.org.
ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC 2025-2026 SEASON LISTINGS
NOT YOUR MOTHER’S GOOSE
October 3- November 2, 2025
Written by Michael J. Bobbitt and Sandra Eskin
Based on traditional English nursery rhymes
Directed by Serge Seiden
Not Your Mother’s Goose is a high-energy, laugh-out-loud romp through Gooseville, where nursery rhymes come to life — and fall apart in the most delightful way! When Hickory the clock-mouse ditches his post, the enchanted Tickety-Tock Clock grinds to a halt, unleashing chaos: time unravels, day turns to night without warning, and rain refuses to fall. With the 100th Annual Peter Pumpkin Eater Harvest Festival at stake, it’s up to the ever-rhyming Mother Goose, the mischievous Itsy-Bitsy Spider, precocious Jack, contrary Mary, and a lovable cast of nursery rhyme characters to restore order. Full of clever wordplay, wild schemes, magical mishaps, and heartwarming lessons about friendship and community, Not Your Mother’s Goose is a fast-paced theatrical adventure that turns childhood classics upside down — and right-side up again.
FROSTY THE SNOW MAN
November 26, 2025-January 11, 2026
by William Francis
Directed by Danny Tippett
Do you want to build a snowman? How about watching him spring to life in front of you for one day of adventures before he melts away? In this merry wintertime romp, chock-full of chuckles and comic antics, Frosty gallops into the hearts of kids and adults alike – even the heart of one skeptical cop – through his uproarious antics.
FRECKLEFACE STRAWBERRY THE MUSICAL
February 13–March 29, 2026
Music and Lyrics by Gary Kupper
Book by Garry Kupper & Rose Caiola
Based on the Books Written by Julianne Moore and Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Conceived for the Stage by Rose Caiola
Directed by Shanara Gabrielle
Freckleface Strawberry The Musical, based on the beloved New York Times best-selling book by celebrated actress, Julianne Moore, is a fun and touching family musical. Freckleface Strawberry will do anything to get rid of her freckles – from scrubbing them with soap to caking on makeup… and even wearing a ski mask to school! Will her schoolmates realize that it’s her under the mask? Will Freckleface be brave enough to finally face her complexion in the mirror? With the help of her lovable schoolmates, including an amazingly talented ballerina, a cutie jock, a charming ditz and a totally kooky teacher, Freckleface learns that everyone is different – and that’s what makes everyone special.
AESOP’S FABLES
April 24-May 24, 2026
By Mike Kenny
Directed by Ray Ficca
Aesop’s Fables is a vibrant, theatrical adventure that brings timeless tales to life with wit, warmth, and whimsy. Adapted by acclaimed playwright Mike Kenny, this fast-paced production features a lovable troupe of traveling storytellers — Wolfie, Syd, Harriet, and Barry — who use humor and imagination to retell five classic fables: The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Wind and the Sun, The Lion and the Mouse, and The Wolf and the Jackdaw. Each story delivers a valuable life lesson on patience, honesty, kindness, and perseverance, making it a delightful experience that entertains while inspiring young audiences to think, feel, and grow.
SLEEPING BEAUTY: THE TIME TRAVELER
June 18-August 23, 2026
Book by Janet Stanford
Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma
Lyrics by Andrea Dodds
Directed by Janet Stanford
Rolly’s ordinary summer takes an extraordinary twist when he’s whisked back in time to the Age of Charlemagne! There, he meets Aurora, a bold 12-year-old princess with dreams of knighthood and adventure beyond her castle walls. But her overprotective royal parents have other plans — thanks to a mysterious curse that threatens to plunge her into a century-long sleep. As Rolly and Aurora plot a daring escape to the modern world, secrets are revealed, destinies collide, and the past and present merge in an epic journey filled with courage, friendship, and a dash of magic. Can they outsmart fate and find their happily ever after?
ABOUT ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC
Located in Glen Echo Park (Glen Echo, MD) and with an Academy in Wintergreen Plaza (Rockville, MD), Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC) educates and inspires new generations of theater artists and audiences with exceptional theatrical experiences.