I outlined an intellectual inquiry that extended my work in an Honors Enhancement of ENGL 380 with Dr. Chris McGee. I wanted to consider the ways in which well-known children’s and young adult books are adapted for the stage – the BIG stage. Over Fall Break, I traveled to New York City to carry that out.

It was absolutely amazing to be able to travel to New York and see some examples of children’s works turned into big-time Broadway productions. The only one I had specifically studied last semester in my enhancement project was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was an incredible experience. I know that story so well; I grew up watching the movie, it was one of my middle school musicals, and I’d done a church program based on the story as well. Talking to the actors afterward about how it relates back to the book was an unexpected surprise. When I mentioned that I was there to see musicals based off of children’s stories, many people grew very excited. They offered insights I had not thought of and told me about how important it is to always go back to the original source material, even if their version is based on an adaptation of the original.

One actor in particular has been in three of the works I either studied or saw – Charlie, Tuck Everlasting, and Wicked – and was very gracious in taking time to answer my questions. He told me about his experiences in those shows and how they had to change to fit with what was going on in that moment in time and how to work with the material to make it fit onto a Broadway stage.