If you consider yourself an amateur sleuth, you should be intrigued by Encyclopedia Brown.
Steven Anderson, Artistic Director of CATCO-Phoenix, has adapted several stories in the popular crime-solving series into a pleasing stage version.

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It’s one thing to see a show played out before you. It’s another experience entirely when the show requires immense audience participation. The latter is precisely the case with CATCO-Phoenix’s production of Encyclopedia Brown, the story of a sharp-witted boy able to solve all of the most puzzling crimes in his town of Idaville.

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Phoenix Theatre for Children's first show under the umbrella of CATCO is one of its best, according to Dispatch critic Margaret Quamme.
But there's not much time left for families and kids to see the production. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow only continues through Sunday in the Riffe Center's Studio
Two Theatre.

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It's hard enough to put on a play that will keep kids of various ages engaged. It's even harder if that play has to be spooky enough to raise a few goose bumps without causing nightmares.

The Phoenix Theatre for Children production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow passes the test. At 50 minutes, Steven Anderson's deft adaptation trims Washington Irving's meandering tall tale down to its meaty bones, leaving time for some period musical numbers to help advance the story and reveal the characters.

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Long ago, a legend took shape revolving around a strange and frightening spirit known as the Headless Horseman. This Halloween, the legend is brought to life by The Phoenix Theatre for Children in their stage adaptation of the famous story written by Washington Irving. Adapted and directed by CATCO-Phoenix Artistic Director Steven C. Anderson, this show is entertaining for the whole family.

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Both reviewers and a young, unofficial reviewer all highly recommend The Phoenix Theatre for Children’s Mrs. Piggle Wiggle at the Vern Riffe Center in Studio One.

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An upside-down house, adults acting like troublesome kids, and a radishy cure for a child who doesn’t want to take a bath are just a few of the things you’ll experience when you see Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, the Phoenix Theatre for Children’s new production. Sound a little bit strange? Well, yes, it is, but it’s just part of the show’s humor and charm.

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As charming as it is, The Story of Babar doesn't easily translate to the stage.

The episodic fantasy about an elephant in a top hat who becomes king of the forest after spending years eating pastries with an old lady and driving her car throughout the countryside has a tossed-off narrative that depends on its delightful illustrations for success.

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If there are two things most children can relate to, they are bedtime stories and playing make-believe. Both of these pastimes are brought to life in front of the audience’s eyes as part of the Phoenix Theatre for Children’s production of The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant, making the story relatable and entertaining for audience members of all ages.

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When you think about Christmas, flying carpets don't leap to mind. But the quirky and engaging Madeline's Christmas, based on a picture book by Ludwig Bemelmans, makes them seem a logical addition to a magical season.

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... this is the perfect holiday show for the whole family. For the adults in the audience who grew up on the Madeline stories, the show brings about wonderful memories of childhood. For the younger audience members, Madeline's Christmas is a wonderful story with catchy tunes and actresses who are as young as they.

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The Phoenix Theatre for Children adaptation of the story -- staged in honor of the 25th birthday of the Thurber House -- is a delightful celebration of both common sense and imagination.

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As far as staging goes, the Phoenix Theatre for Children production of Hansel & Gretel couldn't be simpler.

But that doesn't mean that the show is simplistic. It achieves a delicate balance between humor and suspense, and its playful surface opens up to reveal complex layers of meaning.

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As presented by the Phoenix Theatre for Children, Hansel & Gretel reveals its charms through its simplicity.

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The Miracle Worker is, above all, about the role that language plays in connecting human beings.

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Julie Stewart's Annie is warm and determined. Her lines are voiced by Vanessa Becker with steely wit. Reagan Belhorn is spunky as Helen and Sarah Hiance compassionate as her mother, Kate.

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The bar that Phoenix Theatre for Children sets for itself seems impossibly high: Tell the story of the action-packed The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in less than an hour, even with the inclusion of 10 folk songs.

Yet Huck Finn's American Song clears the bar easily.

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