Paper Bag Players return to SUNY Orange on Feb. 9

America’s longest-running theater troupe devoted exclusively to children, the Paper Bag Players, is making its annual trek to Middletown from NYC on Sunday, Feb. 9, for a 2 p.m. performance of its latest show, "Here we go!"

The 2020 show is a rollicking hour of new sketches plus many of the best classic skits perfect for children and their families and friends. The event takes place at the William and Helen Richards Theatre in Orange Hall, SUNY Orange.

Featuring hilarious stories, lovable characters, original music, on-stage painting, and signature paper and cardboard sets and costumes, the Paper Bag Players celebrate their 61st season of innovative, fun-filled, and thought-provoking theater that speaks directly and vividly to children, while amusing adults with sly wit.

The sketches

In The First Day of School, three children of very different temperaments sing their feelings about the start of a new school year. A chair with a mind of its own refuses to be sat upon. A group of trees, with a little help from the audience and its very own angel, discovers how to outsmart a woodchopper. A king raises a baby dragon named Two-Teeth to become a fine, noble friend. With vivid paint and lively song, Zymillaquixar transports the audience out of the galaxy to an undiscovered planet where the astronauts meet a sweet little alien with a sense of humor. Ah!... the playful flights of this imaginary journey.

'Here we go!" was created by artistic director Ted Brackett, musical director John Stone and Equity actor Kevin Richard Woodall, all long-time Paper Bag Players. They are joined on stage this year by Jada Bennett and Rebecca Rand. Together, they bring this funny, fast-paced show to the stage while engaging the whole audience to join in cheering, laughing, singing, and dancing. It is no wonder why the ‘Bags’ have been termed “a cultural institution” by the New York Times and rated “unquestionably the leading U.S. theater company for kids” by People magazine.