YOUNG ARTISTS ENSEMBLE’s 2007-2008 Family Theatre Mini-Season presents “Charlotte’s Web”, February 1 through 17 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm, and Sundays at 12:30pm and 4:00pm. Meet a pig named Wilbur, runt of the litter, whose life is spared thanks to the friendship of an amazing spider named Charlotte.

THE CONEJO THEATRE FOR EVERYONE presents “Charlotte’s Web” with performances at 7:30pm Friday, and Saturday February 22 and 23, and a 2:00pm matinee on Sunday, February 24. General admission seats are $9. The Therapeutic Recreation Unit and the YOUNG ARTISTS ENSEMBLE combine to present this classic tale featuring disabled and non-disabled performers in a unique theatre experience.

Theatre on the Hill, Hillcrest Center for the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest Dr., Thousand Oaks. For tickets call (805) 381-1246 or online at www.YAEonline.com for more information on the Young Artists Ensemble!

PERFORMANCES TO GROW ON presents “Steve Songs” January 12, 11:00 am Scherr Forum Theatre, $12 kids, adults, $15. His music has won numerous national awards, including a Parents’ Choice Gold Award, a CMW Best Audio Award, a NAPPA Honor and an iParenting Media Award. Steve blends participatory songs, clever stories, and great melodies into an experience that leads young listeners on what the Boston Globe calls, “not just a musical journey, but an entertaining, interactive, and educational one.”

Pushcart Players in Little Red Riding Hood and Other Famous Fairy Tales February 16 - 11:00 am, Scherr Forum Theatre. Innovative settings and songs provide the perfect opportunity for involvement and participation in this first theatre-going experience. Each story is precious with just the right blend of faraway fantasy and contemporary reality. Watch the wonder and magic of live theatre cast its spell on very young viewers as they journey into the imaginary world of Little Red Riding Hood and other Once upon a Time favorites!

FOR FAMILIES tweaksters, Robert Post Comedy Theatre January 19 - 7:00 pm, Scherr Forum Theater, $16 kids, $22 adults. Imaginative? Inventive? Ingenious? Robert Post is a brilliant physical comedian with a stunning theatrical mind. Combine a quart of dry humor with tablespoons of expert mime, versatile acting, and skilled juggling; add a keen sense of satire and the absurd. Blend in splendid timing and experience, and what do you get? A host of unforgettable characters at the perfect comedy feast! “Post merits a place on anybody’s all-star team of the goofily gifted” The Gizmo Guys, Comedy Jugglers, February 9 - 7:00 pm, Scherr Forum Theatre, $16 kids, $22 adults. The Gizmo Guys’ rapid-fire act inspires side-splitting laughter in audience members of all ages, from toddlers to great-grandparents. Adults have as much fun as the kids…maybe more. Take it from the Victoria Theatre in Dayton, Ohio, “The Gizmo Guys are the best! To say they brought the house down is an understatement.”

FOR ADULTS Bearfoot Bluegrass, January 26, 7:30 pm, Matilija Auditorium, 703 El Paseo Rd., Ojai. Co-sponsored by the Ojai Youth Foundation. Proceeds to benefit youth programs in the Ojai Valley. Bearfoot Bluegrass is a contemporary acoustic band from Alaska, featuring twin fiddles, fast picking mandolin and guitar, acoustic bass, and incredible vocals. Likened to groups such as Nickel Creek in their fresh approach to bluegrass and acoustic music, Bearfoot’s repertoire ranges from three-part harmonies evoking the high-lonesome sound of Bill Monroe, to original tunes, to bluesy covers of songs by Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. Bearfoot Bluegrass is a Telluride Festival winner joining such other notables as the Dixie Chicks and Nickel Creek.

FOR STUDENTS Figaro in the American Revolution by the Los Angeles Opera, January 23, 10:00am, Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks, Grades 3-6. Figaro’s American Adventure is a children’s opera by Eli and LeRoy Villanueva, based upon Gioachino Rossini’s beloved The Barber of Seville. Transport your students to colonial America where our wily hero Figaro, with his band of sneaky barbers and mercenaries, leads us on a delightful musical goose chase. Ultimately, he outsmarts his adversary and love triumphs as he helps his friend the Count win the hand of his beloved Rosina. Elementary school children will enjoy this amusing tale and teachers will appreciate the direct link to American history content standards.

Lily’s Crossing by ArtsPower, January 25, 10:00am, Scherr Forum Theatre, Thousand Oaks. Grades 5-8. A breathtaking adaptation of the Yearling Newbury Award-winning book about a World War II friendship between a young American girl and a Hungarian refugee. Lily has planned a spectacular summer at Rockaway Beach at her family’s cozy house on the Atlantic Ocean. By the summer of 1944, World War II has changed almost everyone’s lives. Based on Patricia Reilly Giff’s moving novel, ArtsPower’s play explores what happens when people are brave enough to forge new relationships and follow their heart.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere by TheatreworksUSA, February 8, 10am, Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks. Grades 4-8. From the halls of British Parliament, and the port of Boston for the “Tea Party” protest, to the Boston Massacre and the dangerous thrill of Revere’s now legendary ride warning people of the coming British invasion, this new musical makes American history accessible and exciting through a unique combination of music, drama, and humor. TheatreworksUSA’s The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere tells the inspirational, universal story of how ordinary people can make a difference.

Stone Soup by the acclaimed Pushcart Players, February 14, 10:00am. Oceanview Pavilion, Port Hueneme. February 15, 10:00am, Scherr Forum Theatre, Thousand Oaks. February 20, 10:00am & 12:00 noon, Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks. Grades K-3. Without a doubt, this familiar brew of favorites will delight very young audiences in a special way. A charming, well-seasoned blend, these carefully selected folktales from around the world support the literacy movement’s emphasis on the joy of reading. Dynamic, participatory and filled with zesty entertainment, Stone Soup is on the gourmet “not to be missed” list of young viewers.