By John Posada

originally published: 05/10/2023

(NETCONG, NJ) -- The Growing Stage, The Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, is presenting their final mainstage production of the 2022-2023 season, Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! The Musical! weekends through May 21. This production is even more fun than staying up late and having a hot dog party! It’s not easy being the Pigeon-you never get to do ANYTHING! But when the Bus Driver has a crisis that threatens to make her passengers (gasp!) late, maybe that wily bird CAN do something. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

It is based on the book Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems, published by Hyperion Books for Children with a script by Mo Willems and Mr. Warburton, lyrics by Mo Willems, music by Deborah Wicks La Puma and dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz. This production is under the direction of Lori B. Lawrence, TGS’s Director of Educational Programming with musical direction by Laura Petrie and choreography by Cari Sanchez.

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! The Musical! features the talents of 6 professional performers in this production: Tyler Miranda (The Lightning Thief) of Fort Montgomery, NY as The Pigeon; Meg Foley (The Lightning Thief) of Livingston, NJ as Bus Driver; Dan Campos (Babes in Toyland) of Kearny, NJ as Business Man/Others; Ellie Kallay (TGS Debut!) of Bloomfield, NJ as Duckling/Others; Niall Ng (Mr. Popper’s Penguins) of Maplewood, NJ as Teenager/Others and Julianna Belles (TGS Debut) of Morris Plains, NJ as Old Lady/Others.

Performances take place Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Ticket prices are $28 for adults, $22 for seniors and $18 for children. To purchase tickets, please visit www.growingstage.com or call (973) 347-4946. Group rates are available. Performances take place in the Historic Palace Theatre in Netcong, New Jersey.

Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus! The Musical! is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.

The Mission of The Growing Stage, The Children’s Theatre of NJ is to nurture the development of the performing arts through education — and to create, produce and perform works that engage the entire family.

The Growing Stage’s programs are made possible, in part, by funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and contributions from numerous corporations, foundations, and individuals. The Growing Stage continues to nurture the development of the performing arts through education, and to create, produce, and perform works that engage the entire family.

Here are more photos from the production.

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.