Cast members of Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of Charlotte’s Web, on stage through April 26. At center is Anna Kovas as Fern and Malik Mitchell as Wilbur. Photos by Benjamin Rose Photography

Theatre

Charlotte’s Web Closes Out 2025-2026 Wheelock Family Theatre Season

6,000 schoolchildren expected to attend performances of stage adaptation of E.B. White’s beloved children’s story

Who doesn’t recall the first time they read E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, the story of an enterprising barn spider named Charlotte who saves the life of a pig named Wilbur by weaving words and phrases into her web that turn him into a celebrity, saving him from the slaughterhouse. The gentle antics of White’s barnyard animals have been entertaining young readers since the book first appeared in 1952. In the intervening decades, more than 50 million copies of Charlotte’s Web have been sold, cementing it as a children’s classic that’s still routinely taught in classrooms. For many young readers, the book serves as their first introduction to the cycle of life and death.  

Now, Wheelock Family Theatre is bringing E.B. White’s barnyard to life in a theatrical adaptation by Joseph Robinette. In fact, Charlotte’s Web is the most produced show in WFT’s history (this is the seventh time it’s been staged, the first time in a decade).

“This is one of those plays that continues to get brought back year after year across the country,” says Nick Vargas, WFT executive director. “It’s a story of hope, and I think we’re in a time where hope and joy are often hard to feel. I want audiences to come and feel those things.”

Vargas says another reason WFT chose Charlotte’s Web to close out the season was because of the opportunities the show affords to cast a large number of children in the roles of human characters Fern and Avery and as Charlotte’s offspring. “We’ve cast a host of young kids, ages 6 to 10, in the roles of baby spiders, and while they’re a small part of the show, it’s such an impactful moment in the story,” Vargas says. “It’s an awesome opportunity for us to introduce and provide that first professional experience for the next generation of theater performers.” 

The current production has several new features that set it apart from previous stagings. For starters, it’s being staged with a small ensemble cast, with actors shifting effortlessly between human and animal characters. 

“There is an opportunity for the actors to be playful and turn into different characters in the blink of an eye, sometimes in front of the audience, and then asking the audience to expand their imagination and to play with us, too,” Vargas says. Also new are original orchestrations by composer Dan Rodriguez, who has previously been music director for some of WFT’s musicals. “Dan’s written some gorgeous themes for each character,” Vargas says. “It’s almost cinematic in a way—you feel like he’s supporting the emotional arc of a scene with a chord or a series of notes.” 

And the show’s director, Elliot Norton Award winner Ilyse Robbins, who is also a noted choreographer, has produced some intricate movements for Charlotte that help tell her story of spinning the web that saves Wilbur’s life. Even the baby spiders will have a little bit of dance, Vargas promises.

Demand for the show is among the highest of any Wheelock Family Theatre production, with an estimated 10,000 people expected to attend a performance, including 6,000 school children coming to one of the show’s matinees, made possible by subsidized ticket prices. 

“It’s against our mission, our values, to charge $58 a ticket for a young person to attend a matinee,” Vargas says. “We’re here to make the arts and theater accessible to everyone. So all of our student matinee tickets start at $12, but then we scale all the way down to free tickets.” 

He says he’s not surprised by schools’ outpouring of interest in attending the show. “Teachers are eager to bring stories to life and they’re eager to provide their students with the opportunity to take what they’ve been reading and learning about and see it on the stage.”

And to help teachers and students alike, WFT has produced a resource guide for educators that includes a range of activities they can use in the classroom, among them a section on how teachers can talk to their students about loss and death. And families can scan a QR code for a set of four questions they can use to discuss the story’s themes with their children. 

Vargas says he’s been busy prepping his multigenerational cast for what to anticipate when the curtain goes up.

“It will be like a rock concert, and I mean that in the most joyous way possible,”  he says. “The kids will scream as soon as the lights come down, they’ll applaud at every single moment that has earned applause, and they’ll tell you what’s funny and what’s not. 

“They’re reacting in the most natural way they know how. And that’s what we want to embrace. We don’t want a quiet, reserved audience. We want them to feel what they’re feeling and express it.” 

In the video above, Nick Vargas, executive director of Wheelock Family Theatre, provides a behind-the-scenes peek at the set for Charlotte’s Web, the final production of WFT’s 2025-2026 season. Video courtesy of Wheelock Family Theatre

Charlotte’s Web runs weekends through April 26 at the Wheelock Family Theatre, 180 Riverway, Boston. Performances are Friday, April 3, at 2 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm, and Tuesday, April 21, through Thursday, April 23, at 1 pm. Ticket prices range from $26 to $52. BU students, faculty, and staff are invited free of charge opening weekend (to reserve your ticket, use code “BUOpen”). BU students can purchase $15 tickets to any performance using the code “College.” Faculty and staff receive a 20 percent discount on full-price tickets with code “BUStaff.” Purchase tickets here, call 617-353-3001, or email WFTtix@bu.edu. ASL interpretation/audio description performances are Sunday, April 4, at 2 pm, Thursday, April 16, at 10:30 am (student matinee), and Saturday, April 18, at 2 pm. The production is recommended for audiences ages five and up.