2023-2024 Student Matinees and Field Trips

Throughout the school year, the theatre presents an assortment of field trip opportunities.

STEAM WORKSHOPS

The STEAM Workshops are returning this year, offering a variety of curriculum-based opportunities focused on arts integration.

STUDENT MATINEES

For the 2023-2024 school year, the theatre will be presenting an assortment of in-person student matinees for all age groups. After more than a decade of successful school partnerships, we are eager to continue our connection with the students and schools of central Massachusetts and beyond.

Study Guides are also available for all or most shows to help both students and educators prepare for what they will be seeing on stage. These guides contain background material on the show and include educational activities to enhance the classroom experience before entering the theatre.

Scroll down to view the 2023-2024 Student Matinee Series!

Please check back regularly as we update our season of field trip offerings.

For More Information, Contact: 
Kim Pheymannicie, Student Matinee Coordinator 
[email protected] or 508.471.1765 

THE GLASS MENAGERIE  
Presented by THT Repertory 
Date: October 6, 2023
Time: 10 AM 
Cost: $15 
Run Time: TBD 
Recommended Grades: Grades 8 – 12 
Location: The BrickBox Theater, 20 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA 
A family drama of great tenderness, charm, and beauty, The Glass Menagerie is an icon of the American theater. The story follows Amanda Wingfield, a remnant of Southern gentility now living in a dingy apartment with her son, Tom, and her daughter, Laura. The father has deserted them, leaving Tom to support his mother and sister with a shoe-factory job he finds unbearable. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a “gentleman caller” for Laura, the illusions that Tom, Amanda and Laura have each created to make life bearable shatter.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.1-10, SL.2, L.5
ELA Book Connections: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams 
Resources Available: 
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR THE GLASS MENAGERIE

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: TYA EDITION
Presented by TheatreWorks USA
Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Time: 10am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 70 minutes
Recommended Grades: Grades 3-7
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. Worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy has ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief. He must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.
*Adapted from the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, based on the Broadway production of The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.1-10, W.2, W.4, W.5, W.9, W.10, SL.1-4, SL.6, L.3-6 
History and Social Sciences: 7.T4b.6, 7.T4b.7b,e
ELA Book Connection: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR THE LIGHTNING THIEF

EDGAR ALLAN POE DOUBLE HEADER – SOLD OUT
Presented by THT Repertory
Date: Wednesday, October 25-Friday, October 27, 2023
Time: 10am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 60 minutes
Recommended Grades: Grades 6 – 12
Location: The BrickBox Theater, 20 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA
This Edgar Allan Poe Double Header features two of Poe’s most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Staged as a séance, viewers will conjure the narrators of Poe’s stories to “visit” through the medium of a single live performer, Livy Scanlon.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.2-7, RI. 4-7, SL.1
ELA Book Connections: The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR EDGAR ALLAN POE DOUBLE HEADER

ODYSSEY
Presented by The Acting Company
Dates: November 8, 2023
Time: 10am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 100 minutes
Recommended Grades: Grades 7 – 12
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
A new adaptation of The Odyssey, written and directed by Lisa Peterson, brings new life to this ancient epic. Four young women from Rwanda, Tunisia, Syria and Ukraine, trapped in the limbo of a refugee camp in Greece, retell Odysseus’ adventures as they struggle with their own search for home. A production based on the revelatory new translation by Emily Wilson, its bold theatricality brings new humor and grace to a story we all think we know. 
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.1-10, SL.1-4
History: 7.T4b.2, 7.T4b.6, 7.T4b.7b, 7.T4c.8, WHI.T1.1, WHI.T1.3, WHI.T1.4,
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR THE ODYSSEY

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Presented by The Hanover Theatre
Dates: Tuesday, December 19 – Thursday, December 21, 2023
Time: 10am
Cost: $17
Run Time: 120 minutes
Recommended Grades: Grades 4 – 12
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Adapted by president and CEO Troy Siebels and featuring the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, our annual production returns to the main stage with timeless music, colorful costumes and spectacular lighting and scenery. New and returning cast members tell the tale of curmudgeonly miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by a flying Marley and the Spirits of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.1-3, RL.6, RI.1-4, W.1, W.2, W.4, W.5, SL.1-4
History and Social Science: WHII.T1.2, WHII.T2.2
SEL: CASEL 5- Social Awareness, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Relationship Skills
ELA Book Connection: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR A CHRISTMAS CAROL

BLACK ANGELS OVER TUSKEGEE
Presented by Layon Gray Enterprises
Date: February 29, 2024
Time: 10am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 50 minutes
Recommended Grades: Grades 7-12
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Black Angels Over Tuskegee is a story told in narrative of six men embarking on a journey to become pilots in the United States Army Air Forces. The play explores their collective struggle with Jim Crow; challenging their intelligence, patriotism, brotherhood, and dreams of an inclusive and fair society. The play goes beyond the headlines of popular stories and reveals the heart and soul of the Tuskegee Airmen who exhibited courage to excel, in spite of all the overwhelming odds against them.
Applicable Standards: History: 5.T5.7, 5.T5.8, 5.T5.9, USI.T5.7, USI.T7.4, USII.T3.3, USII.T3.5, USII.T3.8f, WHII.T4.15
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR BLACK ANGELS OVER TUSKEGEE

THE STORIES OF HANSEL AND GRETEL & PETER AND THE WOLF
Presented by The Hanover Theatre Conservatory’s Youth Ballet Company
Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Time: 10:30am
Cost: $12
Run Time: 80 minutes
Recommended Grades: PreK – 4
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Music and dance are woven together for an enhanced arts experience for the entire family. These well-known fairy tales are told through ballet and bring the story book pages to the grand stage. Come see this irresistible adaptation of classics that continues to delight through music and dance.
Applicable Standards: ELA: SL.2, SL.4, SL.5
Science: PreK-LS2-2(MA), K-LS1-1, 2-LS2-3(MA), 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-3, 3-LS4-4, 5-LS2-1
Music: PK-K.M.P.04, 3-4.M.R.07, 5-6.M.R.07
Theatre and Dance: PK-K.D.R.08, PK-K.D.R.09, 1-2.D.P.04 , 1-2.D.R.07, 1-2.D.Co.10, 1-2.T.Cr.03.a, 5-6.D.R.07, 1-2.T.Co.10 
SEL: CASEL-Social Awareness
ELA Book Connection: Hansel and Gretel by the Brothers Grimm, Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev and Janet Schulman
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR THE STORIES OF HANSEL AND GRETEL & PETER AND THE WOLF

KEEP MARCHING: THE ROAD TO THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
Presented by Mad River Theatre
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Time: 1pm                                                               
Cost: $15
Run Time: 60 minutes
Recommended Grades: 4-12
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Keep Marching: The Road to the March On Washington is a new play with music by Mad River Theater Works. Bringing collected oral history to life, the one-act play explores the historic 1963 March On Washington. Revered as the day that Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech in August of 1963, it was a shining moment in the progression of equality in America, as well as a pivotal action in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. Through the historical record of the plans, motivations, fears and concerns that went into organizing the march and collected oral histories of people who attended the March, the threads of the story are weaved together to bring to life many of the iconic figures behind the demonstration including Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RI.1-10
History: 5.T5.8, USII.T4.4, USII.T4.5d
ELA Book Connection: “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR KEEP MARCHING: THE ROAD TO THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS: LOST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Presented by TheatreWorks USA
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Time: 10:30am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 60 minutes
Recommended Grades: K-4
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
When the class gets lost on the way to the planetarium, Ms. Frizzle saves the day by blasting into outer space for an epic interplanetary field trip! But when rivalries, both old and new, threaten to tear the students apart, our young heroes must learn to pull together or risk getting forever lost in the solar system. Hop on the Magic School Bus for a ride in this musical adaptation based on the original book series published by Scholastic. Adapted by Matthew Lee Robinson and Marshall Pailet.
Applicable Standards: ELA: RI.1-10, SL.1-6
Science: PreK-ESS1-1(MA), PreK-ESS1-2(MA), 1-ESS1-1, 5-ESS1-1, 5-ESS1-2
SEL: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills
ELA Book Connection: The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS

TWELFTH NIGHT 
Presented by THT Rep
Date: Friday, May 3, 2024 and Friday, May 10, 2024 
Time: 10:00am
Cost: $15 
Run Time: TBD 
Recommended Grades: 7-12 
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA 
In this romantic comedy, mistaken identity, musical interludes, and mischief abound. The story centers on twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. Stranded, Viola dresses as a man to protect herself, only to fall in love with the Duke Orsino. The Duke, in turn, is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting, however, the Countess falls in love with Viola, mistaking her for a man! Hijinks ensue until identities are revealed, the love triangle is untangled, and the twins are reunited.
Applicable Standards: RL.1-7, RL.9, SL.1, SL.3, SL.4, SL.6, L.1, L.3-6
Resources Available: 
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS TO TWELFTH NIGHT

JUDITH 
Presented by THT Rep
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 10:00am        
Cost: $15 
Run Time: TBD 
Recommended Grades: 7-12 
Location: The BrickBox Theater, 20 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA
What if Shakespeare had a sister? In this fast-paced solo show, Judith dresses in drag and heads to London to save her brother’s reputation. Finding herself in a patriarchal, politically-charged and deeply divided nation, she pursues work as a poet, discovering the pleasures and pitfalls of passing as the bard himself. Gallivanting in and out of character, Judith is a solo show that questions self-worth, ambition, and queer identity.
Applicable Standards: RL.1-7, RL.9, SL.1, SL.3, SL.4, SL.6, L.1, L.3-6
Resources Available: 
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS TO JUDITH

ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER & FRIENDS
Presented by TheatreWorks USA
Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024
Time: 10:30am
Cost: $15
Run Time: 60 minutes
Recommended Grades: K-4
Location: The Hanover Theatre, 2 Southbridge Street, Worcester, MA
Ms. Greer’s classroom includes three inquisitive out-of-the-box thinkers. Rosie Revere has big dreams. Iggy Peck has a relentless passion for architecture. And Ada Twist’s curiosity can lead her to solve any problem.
A fun new musical based on the books Rosie Revere, Engineer; Iggy Peck, Architect; and Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beaty, which spotlights the STEM curriculum (focusing on science, technology, engineering and math).
Applicable Standards: ELA: RL.1, RL.2, RL.3, RL.7, RL.9, SL.2, L.6
Science: K-PS2-1, 1.K-2-ETS1-1, 1.K-2-ETS1-2, 2-PS1-1, 2-PS1-2, 2.K-2-ETS1-3, 3.3-5-ETS1-1, 3.3-5-ETS1-2, 3.3-5-ETS1-4, 4.3-5-ETS1-3, 4.3-5-ETS1-5
ELA Book Connection: Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty
Resources Available:
• Teacher Resource Guide
• Optional Talk-Back after the performance
REQUEST TICKETS FOR ROSIE REVERE, ENGINEER & FRIENDS

For More Information, Contact: 
Kim Pheymannicie, Student Matinee Coordinator 
[email protected] or 508.471.1765