Halloween howls on area stages
Ahhh, October.
Besides falling leaves and pumpkins, it also means Halloween hijinks from haunted houses to seasonal shows.
First up, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” airs on PBS and PBS Kids for the first time ever at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Join the Peanuts gang for a timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron and Linus patiently awaits a pumpkin patch miracle. It’s the first of three holiday-inspired Peanuts specials airing on PBS this season.
Newburyport’s Firehouse Center for the Arts is ready to scare audiences out of their skin with “Evil Dead, The Musical” on-stage from Friday till Oct. 31. It involves five college students who visit an abandoned cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them in to demons. It’s up to Ash, a houseware-employeeturned-demon-killing hero, and his trusty chainsaw to save the day. Blood flies. Limbs are dismembered. Demons tell bad jokes. And it’s set to music. Tickets $35-$50 at https://www.firehouse.org/event/evildead-the-musical/202110-22/. COVID masking protocols in place.
The Dramatically Incorrect Theater Group and Dance Company bring the macabre Addams family to life in the comedic musical “The Addams Family” Friday through Sunday at Tyngsboro’s Old Town Hall on Kendall Road. The large show is the 2-yearold company’s first mainstream musical. Tickets are $20 at https://ditgdc.org.
Finally, up on seacoast Maine, John Bolton, Sally Struthers and a mega-talented cast bring Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” to life through Halloween at the Ogunquit Playhouse. The riotous, raucous romp is a laugha-minute and worth hopping in the car for a funfilled look-see. Tickets at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org or call 207- 6465511.
In the Wings
WEEKEND FUN » Chelmsford Center for the Arts is back with live shows, including a fun-filled kids show this weekend. On Saturday, New York-based actor David Engel brings his swashbuckling, madcap solo show “Pirate School! Sea of Dreams” to young pirate fans at 11 a.m. Set to an original score, Pirate Professor Billy Bones teaches the fine points of lighthearted mischief and more, while promoting manners, polite behavior and courage. $20 open seating, adult and kids 12 and up; $15, ages 4-12. Under
4 not admitted. Masks required or see it live stream for $20. Visit https://happsnow.com/event/the-chelmsfordcenter-for-the-arts/pirateschool-sea-of-dreamsXJJ1M.
BUNDLE UP » Outdoor theater is usually a summer thing. But Northern Essex Community College’s Performing Arts and Communication Department is bucking the trend and staging its fall show, “Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed, outdoors on its Haverhill campus. Performances are Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. and Nov. 6-7 at 2 p.m. The play is based on Strayed’s best-selling book “Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar,” a collection of her advice columns. Hot drinks and doughnuts will be served, and guests are urged to dress warmly. Tickets $15; $10, seniors and students at https:// northern-essex-community-college.ticketleap.com/ tiny-beautiful-things/.
ON SALE NOW » “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Musical” brings holiday joy and family-friendly entertainment the day after Thanksgiving to the Boch Center Wang Theatre in Boston. Tickets are on sale for shows on Nov. 26 at 3 and 7 p.m. at www.bochcenter.org, the box office or 800-9822787. … Tickets are on sale now for “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical,” coming to Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre Feb. 22-March 6. Tickets start at $44.75 at www.BroadwayInBoston.com or call 888- 6160272.