Show History

History

Inspiration

Captain Louie is a family musical adapted from the children's book, The Trip, by Ezra Jack Keats. The original story clocks in at only 347 words and tells the story of a young boy who escapes into his imagination after being forced to move to a new neighborhood. The First All Children's Theatre, a repertory company of young performers in NYC, was in search for a new work. Meridee Stein stumbled upon The Trip and decided to turn it into a short musical. She reached out to Stephen Schwartz, who had previously visited the theatre with his family, to write the music. Though Schwartz was working on the musical, RAGS, he gladly agreed to help.

Productions

Captain Louie began back in 1983 with a 35-minute version in a theatre on West 65th Street in New York City. It was directed by Meridee Stein, the founder and artistic director of the First All Children's Theatre... and the writer of the source material even pitched in to design the sets and costumes! The production played for a year and briefly performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., but soon faded into the woodwork.

The musical came to light more than 20 years later, when book writer, Anthony Stein (husband of Meridee), and composer, Stephen Schwartz, decided to revisit the material. They expanded it to a 65-minute version with new songs, scenes and the added character of Julio. The new version premiered at the York Theatre Company, later playing at the Little Shubert Theatre. The revamped musical then faced a U.S. tour from 2006 to 2007 and a spot at the Junior Theatre Festival in 2009.