The Broadway Junior musical The Big One-Oh! JR. is now available for licensing. The Big One-Oh! JR. features lyrics by Academy Award-winner (Fame, Footloose) Dean Pitchford, the author of the novel; music by three-time Tony-winner Doug Besterman (The Producers, Fosse, Elf, Young Frankenstein); and book by iTheatrics award-winning playwright Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, James and the Giant Peach).

A spectacular production of The Big One-Oh! played Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City in 2019. It starred Aaron Banes as Charley with direction and choreography by MK Lawson. This production marked the world premiere of the TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) version of the show. Now, The Big One-Oh! JR. has been adapted into a 60-minute piece designed for young performers.

Based on the beloved book, Charley Maplewood has never been one for parties – that would require friends, which he doesn’t have. Well, unless you count his monster friends, but they’re only imaginary. But now that he’s turning ten—the big one-oh—he decides to throw a birthday party for himself, complete with a “House of Horrors” theme. Of course, things don’t work out as he plans. Will Charley be able to pull it together before the big one-oh . . . becomes the big OH-NO!?

For this Broadway Junior version of the show, the ShowKit of materials will be delivered digitally. This Digital ShowKit includes the following Broadway Junior resources:

• Actor’s Scripts

• Director's Guide

• Guide Vocal Tracks

• Performance Accompaniment Tracks

“Dean’s clever lyrics and touching underlying source material, coupled with Doug’s rousing score and Tim’s heartfelt book make The Big One-Oh JR. an ideal musical for young performers,” said Drew Cohen, the President and CEO of Music Theatre International. “There are plenty of opportunities for fun ‘stage magic’ in this musical. We can’t wait to see how theatres around the country bring their creativity and new ideas to this monster of a musical.”

McDonald adds, “We wrote The Big One-Oh! JR. specifically for young people to perform. This gives kids all over the world a chance to tell a story about someone their own age and solve problems near and dear to their daily lives. Because of that, there’s built in truth to their storytelling which I find endlessly charming.”

"Creating The Big One-Oh! JR. with Tim and Doug was one of the most joyous theatrical experiences of my career, second only to the opportunity I’ve had to watch thrilled audiences react to our show with laughter, tears and cheers,” stated Dean Pitchford. 

Live Stream, Scheduled Content, Video on Demand, and Remote Performance options are all available. Find more information about the show and how to license it here: https://www.mtishows.com/the-big-one-oh-jr. International restrictions may apply.

Photo credit: JTF 2021 Texas, photos by Charles Tsang