magic-tree-on-stage

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: Fall 2025

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 22:10:03 GMT

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter

October 2025

Welcome to your definitive resource into the wonderful world of Magic Tree House (MTH) theatrical productions. Get behind the scenes information about the musical adaptations of the beloved bestselling books for professional theatres, classrooms, community spaces, kids, and families.

SEVERAL family and classroom friendly shows to choose from; ALL adaptable, affordable, and guaranteed to fill your seats!

This issue features a spotlight on A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens and Christmas in Camelot, our 30-minute script for licensing Jack and Annie's Literacy Show , and ways to stay connected to MTH On Stage all year!

Thank you for being loyal followers!

Holiday Fun with Jack & Annie!
Season options for licensing

A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens, Jr.

A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens JR . finds Jack and Annie in Victorian London where legendary author Charles Dickens is at the height of his popularity as a writer. Despite his success, though, Dickens is so upset by the horrible conditions of the poor in his city that he has chosen to give up writing forever. The siblings disguise themselves as chimney sweeps and manage to make friends with the illustrious novelist. Sharing his compassion and concern for the underprivileged, they magically conjure three ghosts who convince Mr. Dickens that his writing can be a force for change – and inspire him to write one of the greatest holiday stories of all time.

This show is available in a 60 minute version to be performed by youth AND as a TYA version with a flexible cast for professional theatres.
Looking for something else? Just drop us a note and ask us!

Christmas in Camelot

Christmas in Camelot is a full-length Broadway-style musical based on the first Magic Tree House Merlin Mission. Jack and Annie are thrilled to receive a Royal Invitation to a banquet in Camelot, but once the tree house arrives on the castle grounds they discover that the kingdom has fallen under a dark spell – and lost all its joy. Now it’s up to the young adventurers to journey to the perilous Other World and retrieve a cup of magical water which is the only thing that can save Camelot – and their beloved tree house – from being lost forever!

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE's 30-minute show JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW is available to license!
Perfect for the New Year!

Available to license in 2025-26!

Jack and Annie's Literacy Show is a 30 minute, 2 person mini musical with limited production requirements for a very affordable licensing fee.

This entertaining show features the beloved brother-sister duo, Jack and Annie from the bestselling Magic Tree House books and is perfect for community theatres, small professional theatres, schools, libraries, bookstores, and other community spaces. It also makes a wonderful touring show.

The Literacy Show brings Jack and Annie's time traveling adventures to life with five original songs, backing tracks, and audience participation with the goal of inspiring a lifelong love of reading and learning in young MTH fans.

*Title 1 schools qualify for an accompanying Magic Tree House book giveaway!*

This two-person mini-musical is also available in conjunction with productions of our Theatre for Young Audiences and Broadway Junior musicals for community outreach by producing theatres and groups.

CONTACT US!

Never miss an MTH On Stage Newsletter, big announcements, upcoming shows, and licensing opportunities! Sign up to receive all the news!

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: December 2024

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 22:40:46 GMT

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter

December 2024

This issue features our brand new script for licensing, Jack and Annie's Literacy Show , a 30 minute flexible show that can tour, a spotlight on A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens , and ways to stay connected to MTH On Stage all year!
Thank you for being loyal followers!

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE announces a JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW for licensing!
Perfect for the New Year!

Now available to license in 2024-25!

Jack and Annie's Literacy Show is a 30 minute, 2 person mini musical with limited production requirements for a very affordable licensing fee.

*Title 1 schools qualify for an accompanying Magic Tree House book giveaway!*

This two-person mini-musical is also available in conjunction with productions of our Theatre for Young Audiences and Broadway Junior musicals for community outreach by producing theatres and groups.

SPOTLIGHT SCRIPT:
A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS

A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens JR . finds Jack and Annie in Victorian London where legendary author Charles Dickens is at the height of his popularity as a writer. Despite his success, though, Dickens is so upset by the horrible conditions of the poor in his city that he has chosen to give up writing forever. The siblings disguise themselves as chimney sweeps and manage to make friends with the illustrious novelist. Sharing his compassion and concern for the underprivileged, they magically conjure three ghosts who convince Mr. Dickens that his writing can be a force for change – and inspire him to write one of the greatest holiday stories of all time.

This show is available in a 60 minute version to be performed by youth AND as a TYA version with a flexible cast for professional theatres.
Looking for something else? Just drop us a note and ask us!

CONTACT US!

Never miss an MTH On Stage Newsletter, big announcements, upcoming shows, and licensing opportunities! Sign up to receive all the news!

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: Spring 2024

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 17:36:33 GMT

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter

Spring 2024

We are pleased to welcome you to the definitive resource into the wonderful world of MTH theatrical productions across the world. Every issue will bring you behind the scenes information about the musical adaptations of the beloved books for professional theatres, classrooms kids, and families.

Our first issue features a Children's Book Review Podcast with Mary Pope Osbore and Will Osborne talking about MTH On Stage, a spotlight on Orlando Shakes Theatre, and ways to stay connected to MTH On Stage all year!
Thank you for being loyal followers!

BEHIND THE SCENES: Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne on Magic Tree House On Stage

"Live theatre stimulates children’s imaginations in ways nothing else can. And when the performance features characters kids know and love from a book, the connections they make are truly magical!" ~ Mary Pope Osborne, renowned author of the bestselling Magic Tree House (MTH) book series.

Mary and her husband, playwright Will Osborne, recently launched Magic Tree House On Stage: MTHOnStage.com , a licensing website featuring original TYA musicals based on MTH books.

It began with an adaptation of MTH Christmas in Camelot , a musical adventure full of rollicking tunes and rich orchestration. Eight adaptations followed including A Night in New Orleans featuring a young Louis Armstrong and music by legendary composer Allen Toussaint; A Big Day for Baseball which transports kids to 1947 for Jackie Robinson's first day; Winter of the Ice Wizard , a fantastical play with music influenced by Norse and Celtic mythology; Showtime with Shakespeare introducing kids to the most famous playwright of all time; and A Ghost Tale for Mister Dickens featuring an encounter with Charles Dickens. There are also four adaptations designed for performance by classrooms.

Mary and Will shared their personal perspectives of adapting the hugely popular books to the stage in a Children's Book Review interview.

Mary: "My part is to go see each show, and it always blows my mind. It’s always better than my book, frankly. What I care about most is that they keep the life lessons going from the books with a beautiful kind of uplifting feeling… There’s about 100 songs they’ve done, and any one of them stands alone as inspiring and wonderful for children."

Will: "We love watching kids watching these shows come to life on stage. It’s a cliche in theatre to ask, why do you think they call it a play? Theater is play—full of joy."

SPOTLIGHT THEATER: Orlando Shakes

Orlando Shakes' mission is to enrich our community with engaging professional theater, inspiring educational experiences, and thought-provoking new plays. Over the years, they have produced four full scale productions of Magic Tree House musicals, including the world premieres of Showtime With Shakespeare and A Big Day for Baseball.

In partnership with Mary Pope Osborne's Classroom Adventures Program , Orlando Shakes has distributed over 70,000 copies of MTH books to public school children.

The World Premiere Orlando Shakes production creative team included:

Director/Choreographer: Nicolette Quintero

Musical Director Evan Jones

Cultural Coordinator: Roberta Emerson

Set: Chris McKinney

Lights: Philip Lupo

Costumes: Kristina Tollefson**

Sound: Britt Sandusky

Stage Manager: Zane Tesfazghi

Cast

Actor 1: Jack Sterling Street

Actor 2: Annie Kate Milazzo

Actor 3: Granny, Ensemble Anita Whitney Bennett

Actor 4: Olive, Ensemble Brianna Collazo

Actor 5: Otis, Ensemble Kadesh Lewis

Actor 6: Team Manager, Ensemble Drew Stark

Actor 7: Jackie Robinson Johnathan Arvelo

Actor 8: Ensemble Andre Braza

Actor 9: Ensemble Giuseppe Pipicella

CONTACT US!

Never miss an MTH On Stage Newsletter, big announcements, upcoming shows, and licensing opportunities! Sign up to receive all the news!

10th Anniversary of the Chappaqua Children's Book Festival With Celebrity Headlining Author Mary Pope Osborne

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 15:38:48 GMT

The 10th Anniversary of The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival

The 2023 Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival With Celebrity Headlining Author Mary Pope Osborne, Author of The Magic Treehouse Series, takes place on Saturday, September 30, 10 am- 4 pm -The largest children’s book festival in the tristate area will have 180 renowned Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators in attendance; Book Signings and Readings, and Illustrator Demos, with a percentage of proceeds going to literacy programs throughout Westchester and Metro New York.

The 10th Anniversary of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival (CCBF) will take place on Saturday, September 30, from 10 am-4 pm at the Chappaqua Train Station in Chappaqua, New York. This year’s Festival will be the largest one yet, with 180 authors in attendance and celebrity authors Mary Pope Osborne and Alan Gratz leading the charge. We look forward to introducing the community to new writers joining us this year, like Alex Gino, and reconnecting with returning authors like Bryan Collier. Admission and parking are free, and the event will be held rain or shine. CCBF is proud to announce that it is a recipient of the Westchester Arts 2023 Arts Alive grant, given to support community-based arts and cultural projects developed by cultural groups and organizations.

Read the full story ...

30 years and 65 books later, Mary Pope Osborne reflects on ‘Magic Tree House’

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 18:50:37 GMT

By Elena Nicolaou

Senior entertainment editor at Today.com

Mary Pope Osborne, who has been writing the series for 30 years and was working on her 65th installment at the time of this interview, said I'm hardly the first person who has told her that "Magic Tree House" impacted them. Speaking to TODAY, Osborne recalled a particularly memorable encounter with a reader, now all grown up.

At the time, she was in a parking lot grocery store. A fan, she said, started calling her name and ran across the parking lot. "She burst into tears and said, 'You got me through a troubled childhood,'" she said. "It was so powerful, that one line: 'You got me through a troubled childhood.'"

Osborne recently compiled her wisdom of 30 years of writing the “Magic Tree House” series in a book called “ Memories and Life Lessons from the Magic Tree House ” out earlier this year.

Below, we caught up with Osborne about a lifetime with Jack and Annie.

Read the full story at today.com

INTERVIEW: Mary Pope Osborne + Kelly & Nichole Matthews on the MAGIC TREE HOUSE Graphic Novel Adaptations

Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:50:02 GMT

Have you had a chance to check out Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark , adapted by Jenny Laird, and illustrated by sisters Kelly and Nichole Matthews?

It’s the first book in a new line of graphic novel adaptations of the bestselling prose series from Random House Graphic.

The Beat got the opportunity to chat with series creator Osborne and graphic novel illustrators Kelly and Nicole over email to find out all about their favorite books of all time, to learn how drawing dinosaurs compares with drawing non-extinct animals, and find out what goes into the perfect illustrated map!

Read the full story...

A magical life

Tue, 04 Jun 2019 19:01:53 GMT

Together Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne oversee the Magic Tree House enterprise. A young reader once wrote to them, “If you didn’t [write] the Magic Tree House books, I would go nuts!” Thankfully for their fans, they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Photo by Wendy Carlson.

For 27 years, Carolina alumni Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne have taken children on journeys across time and space through The New York Times bestselling Magic Tree House chapter book series.

The real magic in the beloved Magic Tree House children’s book series doesn’t involve time travel with brother-sister protagonists Jack and Annie — it’s actually the connection that author Mary Pope Osborne and her husband, Will Osborne, an actor and playwright, have with young readers.

They’ve journeyed together to visit dinosaurs and pirates and mummies and even to the moon. They’ve met famous people like Jackie Robinson and William Shakespeare and Clara Barton.

Mary will publish the 60 ^th book in The New York Times bestselling series next January on whales called narwhals.

The creative duo, who graduated from Carolina in 1971 and now live in Massachusetts, cherish the time they get to spend with their biggest fans. Mary said of her loyal 6- to-8-year-old followers, “We’re there at the sweet spot of life.”

Read the full story at www.unc.edu/discover/a-magical-life

Magic Tree House' author builds worlds from the Berkshires

Fri, 04 Jan 2019 16:45:28 GMT

GREAT BARRINGTON — Surrounded by historical art and architecture, Berkshire residents may regularly feel transported to the past. But it would be difficult to find anybody in these hills more versed in time travel than Mary Pope Osborne.

"People can give me one word, and it's like as soon as you open that little door, there's a world," the "Magic Tree House" series author said during a Thursday morning visit to her Castle Street house in Great Barrington.

Osborne recently found that entry point once again. Publisher Penguin Random House had recommended that she base the 60th installment of the children's series on narwhals.

Read the full story...

Magic Tree House Author Mary Pope Osborne To Give Talk on the Art of Storytelling at Norman Rockwell Museum

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 14:34:42 GMT

Stockbridge, MA, December 18, 2018—The Norman Rockwell Museum and Berkshire Magazine will present a special talk with author Mary Pope Osborne and her Magic Tree House Team at the Museum on Thursday, January 10, starting at 5:30 p.m. Osborne, who lives part-time in the Berkshires and whose family home is in Great Barrington, will share her creative process and storytelling ideas for the award-winning Magic Tree House series of children’s books.

Read the full story at Norman Rockwell Museum

magic-tree-on-stage

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: Fall 2025

Welcome to MTH On Stage's Quarterly Newsletter

Holiday Fun with Jack & Annie! Season options for licensing

A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens, Jr.

Christmas in Camelot

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE's 30-minute show JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW is available to license! Perfect for the New Year!

CONTACT US!

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: December 2024

Welcome to MTH On Stage's Quarterly Newsletter

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE announces a JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW for licensing! Perfect for the New Year!

SPOTLIGHT SCRIPT: A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS

CONTACT US!

MTH ON STAGE NEWSLETTER: Spring 2024

Welcome to MTH On Stage's Quarterly Newsletter

BEHIND THE SCENES: Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne on Magic Tree House On Stage

SPOTLIGHT THEATER: Orlando Shakes

CONTACT US!

10th Anniversary of the Chappaqua Children's Book Festival With Celebrity Headlining Author Mary Pope Osborne

30 years and 65 books later, Mary Pope Osborne reflects on ‘Magic Tree House’

INTERVIEW: Mary Pope Osborne + Kelly & Nichole Matthews on the MAGIC TREE HOUSE Graphic Novel Adaptations

A magical life

Together Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne oversee the Magic Tree House enterprise. A young reader once wrote to them, “If you didn’t [write] the Magic Tree House books, I would go nuts!” Thankfully for their fans, they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Photo by Wendy Carlson.

Magic Tree House' author builds worlds from the Berkshires

Magic Tree House Author Mary Pope Osborne To Give Talk on the Art of Storytelling at Norman Rockwell Museum

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter

Holiday Fun with Jack & Annie!
Season options for licensing

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE's 30-minute show JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW is available to license!
Perfect for the New Year!

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter

BEHIND THE SCENE S : MTH ON STAGE announces a JACK & ANNIE'S LITERACY SHOW for licensing!
Perfect for the New Year!

SPOTLIGHT SCRIPT:
A GHOST TALE FOR MR. DICKENS

Welcome to MTH On Stage's
Quarterly Newsletter