The Pompano Beach Cultural Center is proud to present The Fantasy Theatre Factory’s production of Whales, Magic and Cheese… Oh My! This timely story follows Jojo, a “bookworm” boy who wants to fit in, but soon learns that being different is what makes us special. Performances are Friday, July 26 at 10:30 am and Saturday, July 27 at 11 am. Tickets $5-$10. Learn more at ccpompano.org or call 954-545-7800.
Whales, Magic and Cheese… Oh My!” is one of Fantasy Theatre Factory’s newest literacy incentive and bully prevention show. The story stars Jojo, a great kid who loves to read until some kids in the lunchroom start calling him names like “bookworm.” To avoid the bullying, Jojo goes to Mendel’s Magical Book Shop, hoping that he can sell his books and use the money to buy video games, so he’ll fit in with the other kids. Once inside the Magic Book Shop though, things take an unexpected turn as the stories in his books magically start to jump to life all around him! Now, all of the pages to Jojo’s books are blank and the characters from his books are running wild in real life!
It’s up to Jojo to retell the stories to get his old friends to return to their pages. While Jojo works to get his favorite characters back in the books where they belong, he remembers why he loves to read so much in the first place—it’s really fun! Along the way, Jojo starts to realize that all of his books have characters in them who are different, and that being different is what makes them special
About the Fantasy Theatre Factory:
Fantasy Theatre Factory (FTF) was created in New York in 1977 by Ed Allen & Mimi Schultz. The company expanded, incorporated as a Florida Not-for-Profit in 1982, and has toured the State of Florida and internationally since that time. For over 40 years, FTF has operated solely as a touring theatre company. In 2016 FTF was selected by Miami-Dade County’s Department of Cultural Affairs to serve as the resident operator for the newly constructed Sandrell Rivers Theater in Miami’s resurging Liberty City neighborhood. With this new facet of the organization, FTF now operates two main wings of programming: Touring outreach & presenting in-house programs. Touring outreach remains FTF’s largest program, with exciting advances occurring with FTF’s new in-house programming initiatives at the Sandrell Rivers Theater.
FTF presents more than 400 Florida programs, reaching over 150,000 people yearly. FTF’s mission is to make more quality theater programs available to more people. FTF programs are an evolution of more than 40 years of performing and teaching in Florida. Fantasy Theatre Factory received the Excellence in Direct Service to Children Award in 2013 from the Miami-Dade Children’s Trust, among its many other honors. In 2013, Larry Fields became the 2nd Artistic Director of Fantasy Theatre in the company’s over 39-year history. Mr. Fields has been with FTF for over 10 years. During that time, he has served in nearly every department in the company.
In 2016 FTF launched its new Arts & Culture for Community Engagement Special Series – ACCESS umbrella of programs, including ACCESS Special-Needs with programs targeted to students with disabilities including sensory processing & Autism; ACCESS Saturday Series with free programs targeted to local residents around the Sandrell Rivers Theater in Liberty City; ACCESS LGBTQ with programs targeting Miami’s growing LGBTQ population.
Tickets and additional information available HERE.