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Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web

Adapted by Joseph Robinette. Based on the book by E.B. White.

Product Code: C58000

Full-length Play

Drama

Cast size: 5 to 7m., 7 to 9w., flexible ensemble group.


Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Awards: The Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award


Rights and availability

This title can be licensed and sold in the following countries:
Australia, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States

Please note this title may be restricted in your area and may require additional processing time.

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Available Formats
$12.95
In Stock
$20.00
In Stock

Min. Royalty Rate: $115.00/perf

Synopsis

The Children's Literature Association named this "the best American children's book of the past two hundred years," and Joseph Robinette, working with the advice of E.B. White, has created a play that captures this work in a thrilling and utterly practical theatrical presentation. The costumes and unit set may be simple or as colorful and elaborate as you wish; it's the story and relationships that make the show. All the enchanting characters are here: Wilbur, the irresistible young pig who desperately wants to avoid the butcher; Fern, a girl who understands what animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat who can occasionally be talked into a good deed; the Zuckerman family; the Arables; and, most of all, the extraordinary spider, Charlotte, who proves to be “a true friend and a good writer.” Determined to save Wilbur, Charlotte begins her campaign with the "miracle" of her web in which she writes, "Some pig." It's the beginning of a victorious campaign which ultimately ends with the now-safe Wilbur doing what is most important to Charlotte. This is a beautiful, knowing play about friendship that will give your actors a great opportunity and your audience an evening of enchantment. 

Notes

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

NOW AVAILABLE!
Director's Script and Logo Pack
Our 8.5x11 Director’s Script and downloadable Logo Pack will make producing your show a breeze!
Click here to learn more.

Details

  • Status In stock
  • Type of Show Full-length Play
  • Product Code C58000
  • Minimum Cast Size 12
  • Pages of Dialogue 63
  • Min. Royalty Rate $115.00/perf
  • Approx. Run Time 95 min
  • Staging Unit set.

Categories

  • Target Audience Young Audiences | Middle School | Family (all ages)
  • Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | TYA
  • Genre Drama
  • ISBN(13) 9780871292438

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Customer Reviews

The children involved loved the play. The children in the audience loved the play. There is a reason the classic tales live on for years -- characters that are understandable; a story that speaks to the audience; and a positive message to learn.

Grace Sayers, Theatre Centre, Inc., DeLand, FL

The script gives a fine blueprint for a successful staging of this very popular story. It was the best attended show in my college's history.

Dawson Moore, Prince William Sound Community College, Valdez, Alaska

This is a great play to cast in a youth program. The story is moving in a youthful style that doesn't dumb down for adults. Grandparents brought grandchildren to introduce them to such a wonderful story.

Walter Williams, Master Arts Theatre, Grand Rapids, Mich.

This was our school's first mutiple-grade-level play in many years. Charlotte's Web was an excellent vehicle to show the advantages of different ages. The classic story was enjoyed by young and old alike.

Susan Williams, Berean Academy, Elbing, Kan.

This show was a hit with both the cast and the audience. We had a cast of 37 children ranging in age from 3 to 13 and every one of them got a speaking part and their moment in the spotlight! A great message for young audiences, too!

Carol-Ann Black, ShowBiz Kidz, Allen Park, Mich.

Our most successful production in many years. The community was delighted with a family-appropriate show. We used children for the baby spiders.

Kathleen R. Harris, Deering High School, Portland, Maine

This version of the classic E. B. White story is a magnificent choice for young and more experienced actors alike. The genre of the play allows the actors to explore, and create these classic characters, due largely to this great adaptation by Joseph Robinette. A story for all agesÑour audiences enjoyed not only the humorous aspects of the play but the more emotional moments as well. Charlotte's Web offers a great platform for story theatre narrative work, physicality on stage, and a developed plot that enables the actors to create characters with dimension.

Maureen Bernstein, Desert Pines High School, Las Vegas, Nev. (Nevada Thespian Board Member)

A remarkable, touching story, revealing through inspired webs and the charming characters, themes of friendship on earth, affection and protection, adventure and miracle, life and death, trust and treachery, pleasure and pain, and the passing of time and innocence forgotten.

Pam Swanto, Silver Sands Middle School, Port Orange, Fla.

Had standing room for each night. We should have run it for six nights. I found it an ideal play for summer, and for young actors. I liked the idea of a chorus, having produced Our Town and The Fantasticks. I would recommend this play for any school production.

Bill Bennett, Peachland Players, Westbank, British Columbia, Canada

I loved this show! Charlotte's Web was easy to stage and was a real treat for those in the cast and also in the audience. A great show for kids!

Amber Peters, Seneca Valley Senior High School, Harmony, Pa.

Charlotte's Web is an ideal children's show. Staged with only a barnyard scene, the play moves easily to the county fair. The children loved it and the cast created wonderful silly characters that delighted all.

June E. Dill, Sturgis High School, Sturgis, S.D.

One of the best stage adaptations I have ever read. The production charmed audiences, children and adults alike.

Mark Carter, DS Productions, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Charlotte's Web, the straight play, has been a delight to produce! It is true to its original novel, with all of the timeless characters and scenes included. It's Some Play!

Wendi Edwards, Twin Oaks Elementary, Leesburg, GA

Great show for middle school kids -- has challenging roles along with great secondary characters. Easy for the kids to follow story line.

Dawn Lipker, La Crescent Public Schools, La Crescent, MN

It was well scripted -- stayed very close to the book -- and was well received by audiences. It sold out every show.

Kara Kemp, Actors Co-Op, Knoxville, TN

This was a highly popular and successful production for our school. The adaptation is very faithful to the original book that so many love. There is also a lot of opportunity for creativity. The cast can also be expanded to include as many as you want/need! It's very family friendly and our students and our audiences loved it!

Matthew Frick, Lutheran High School, Indianapolis, Ind.

Simple staging was an asset. Very true to original story. The chorus is an ingenious device for bringing in the poetic lyricism of E. B. White. Excellent production notes in script.

Larayne Watts, Willapa Players, Raymond, WA

This production went very well. It gave us ample options for casting and technical assignments. The pacing proved to be excellent, and my students found this tons of fun.

Robyn Fowler, Northside High School, Fort Smith, Ark.

Fabulous, flexible enough to make casting easy, story flows nicely. We included our younger kids by adding goslings, and farm kids in the crowd scenes. Set design was easy, turned out beautiful. We've had a blast putting it together; we had a cast of 30!

Gina Hawkins, Blue Ridge Community Theater, Blue Ridge, Ga.

Fantastic for young audiences! Easy to incorporate modern/non-traditional elements with classic story.

A.J. Prawitz, St. James High School, St. James, Mo.

One of THE most successful shows we have ever done.

Molly Grasso, Papillion-LaVista High School, Papillion, Neb.

This production was produced with and by 40 children who filled roles on and back stage. We broke attendance records of past shows and received more compliments than we could stand (almost)!

Del Thatcher, Wylie Acting Group for Children, Wylie, Texas

Fantastic.

Matt Thompson, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Solana Beach, Calif.

This was a great production! We cast mostly teens and children, with a few adults mixed in. What a success! It was the most profitable production we have ever done, and this is a 50-year-old theatre troupe!

Mary Ortwein, Rome Little Theatre, Inc., Rome, Ga.

Charlotte's Web was radiant! This children's classic delighted audience members young and old. Besides having a beautifully flowing story, it was a load of fun.

Maranda Knepp, Wayside Christian School, Bucyrus, Ohio

This adaptation is true to the plot and heart of E.B. White's novel. Excellent options in the script for actors, design team and director to explore.

Vicki Gage, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, N.Y.

This was a great show for our school. The students loved the story and getting to play animals. The audiences could really connect with the story they knew from childhood.

Curtis Fischer-Oelschlaeger, Rockridge High School, Taylor Ridge, Ill.

This title is the PERFECT script for a children's theater. The story is superb, the writing and thru line are easy to direct and learn, making for a wonderful end product.

Mary Jensen, Treasure Valley Children's Theatre, Meridian, Idaho

This play was a "crowd pleaser" for our organization. The flexible script allowed us to to engage many of our young performers. I highly recommend this production.

David Malinowski, The Fine Arts Association, Willoughby, Ohio

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

If you're producing this play with young actors, be aware that there is a lot of down time for most of your actors, and no down time for Wilbur. The animals at the farm are offstage for most of act 2, and the ensemble are on stage for just a few scenes throughout the play. Since there's so much down time between scenes, it was sometimes difficult for actors to remember their cues. If you have very young actors, make sure there's a stage manager or adult backstage to help them with cues.

Jana Wilhite, Grantsville Junior High School, Grantsville, Utah

Using lighting effects (we used a gelled gobo rotator) and background music can make the writing in the web moments seem even more magical.

Christine Gregoire, Liberty Middle School, Liberty, Mo.

We used spider puppets for the "members" - it was a hit with audiences!

Mary Jensen, Treasure Valley Children's Theatre, Meridian, Idaho

We put a chase scene through the the audience when Uncle Homer and Lurvy try to capture Wilbur. Fun, fun.

Bill Fegan, Santa Fe Trail School for the Arts, Raton, N.M.

The use of the traveler curtain, as suggested in the production notes, was very effective.

Sam Teres, COLS-EP San Diego, Calif.

Get costumes done early! We had problems with our spider costumes!

Amber Peters, Seneca Valley Senior High School, Harmony, Pa.

Use a simple set. I kept the chorus in full view of audience all the time dressed in Pierrot costume so they were apart from the cast. Animals dressed as humans with animal masks.

Bill Bennett, Peachland Players, Westbank, British Columbia, Canada

We built a large barn set and did the fair scenes downstage with only a stall and some hay bales. In the barn, we built a loft for Charlotte that allowed us to create a large yarn web.

Tom Kirk, Hart Middle School, Hart, Mich.

We had Charlotte enter the stage lowered, as a spider descends. The audience loved this move.

Mike Brooks, St. John Theatre, Laplace, La.

Production Map

Location City State Opens Closes
Peotone High School Peotone IL 02/21/2025 02/23/2025
Barron Spotlighters Barron WI 02/14/2025 02/23/2025
Copley-Fairlawn Middle School Copley OH 02/26/2025 03/01/2025
Actors PLAYground Theater Company Surprise AZ 02/21/2025 03/02/2025
Solon Center for the Arts Solon OH 03/06/2025 03/06/2025
Optimum Community Center Bullhead City AZ 03/07/2025 03/08/2025
Indian River Charter High School Vero Beach FL 03/06/2025 03/08/2025
Carthage R9 Auditorium Carthage MO 03/06/2025 03/08/2025
Hamel Auditorium Erdenheim PA 03/06/2025 03/08/2025
ACTA Theater Trussville AL 02/28/2025 03/09/2025
03/03/2025 03/14/2025
Westlake Christian Academy Grayslake IL 03/13/2025 03/15/2025
Otterville School Gymnasium Otterville MO 03/14/2025 03/15/2025
Mizel Arts And Culture Center/Elaine Wolf Theatre Denver CO 02/20/2025 03/16/2025
St. Andrews University Laurinburg NC 03/13/2025 03/22/2025
Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild performing at Presbyterian Church of Punxsutawney Punxsutawney PA 03/21/2025 03/22/2025
Western Reserve Playhouse Richfield OH 03/21/2025 03/23/2025
Rush Creek Bible Church Byron Center MI 03/28/2025 03/28/2025
Moreau Center for the Arts - Little Theatre South Bend IN 03/28/2025 03/30/2025
ACTA Theatre, INC Trussville AL 03/27/2025 03/30/2025
Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre Baker City OR 03/21/2025 03/30/2025
Starr's Mill High School Fayetteville GA 04/03/2025 04/04/2025
Trinity Preparatory School Winter Park FL 04/02/2025 04/05/2025
Edna Boykin Cultural Center Wilson NC 04/02/2025 04/06/2025
Sandwich Opera House Sandwich IL 04/04/2025 04/06/2025
Camden County College Blackwood NJ 04/07/2025 04/11/2025
Goshen Theater, Inc Goshen IN 04/12/2025 04/12/2025
Bordentown Regional High School Bordentown NJ 04/12/2025 04/12/2025
Northfield Evangelical Free Church Northfield MN 04/11/2025 04/12/2025
The Avalon Theatre Marysville OH 04/11/2025 04/12/2025
Sprague Community Theater Bandon OR 04/04/2025 04/13/2025
Tecumseh Jr-sr High School Lynnville IN 04/10/2025 04/13/2025
Myers Dinner Theatre Hillsboro IN 04/04/2025 04/19/2025
Cloverleaf High School Lodi OH 04/24/2025 04/26/2025
Trinity Christian School Pittsburgh PA 04/24/2025 04/26/2025
El Diamante Theatre Visalia CA 04/11/2025 04/27/2025
O. Henry Middle School - Austin ISD Austin TX 05/01/2025 05/02/2025
Cornerstone Christian Academy Bloomington IL 05/02/2025 05/03/2025
Souls harbor church London KY 05/02/2025 05/03/2025
Gateway Center For The Arts DeBary FL 04/25/2025 05/04/2025
Desert Christian High School Lancaster CA 05/08/2025 05/09/2025
The Arts Center of Cannon County Woodbury TN 04/30/2025 05/10/2025
Gas City Performing Arts Center Gas City IN 05/09/2025 05/10/2025
The Harvey School Katonah NY 05/15/2025 05/15/2025
Wilson Middle School Natick MA 05/16/2025 05/18/2025
Hope Community Church West Salem WI 05/30/2025 05/31/2025
Greenhouse Theatre Center Chicago IL 05/10/2025 06/03/2025
Carnegie Players Cleburne TX 06/06/2025 06/15/2025
Independence High School Performing Arts Center Independence KS 06/13/2025 06/15/2025
Wheaton Park District Community Center Wheaton IL 06/20/2025 06/21/2025
07/07/2024 07/07/2025
High Prairie Arts and Science Complex Bismarck ND 06/26/2025 07/10/2025
The Fleming Island Theater Incorporated Fleming Island FL 07/11/2025 07/20/2025
The Elizabeth Seton Center Pittsburgh PA 07/18/2025 07/27/2025
La Grange Independent School District Performing Arts Center La Grange TX 07/25/2025 07/27/2025
Chillicothe Civic Theatre Chillicothe OH 09/11/2025 09/14/2025
Columbus Middle School Columbus WI 09/19/2025 09/28/2025
Midland Community Theatre Midland TX 10/03/2025 10/18/2025
Children's Theatre of Charlotte Charlotte NC 09/19/2025 10/19/2025
07/01/2024 12/31/2025

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