Jack be nimble, Jack be quick — Adventure Theatre MTC (ATMTC) is about to light the candlestick on its 2025/26 “Timeless Tales” season with a laugh-out-loud, world-premiere adventure for the whole family: Not Your Mother’s Goose! From the clever minds of Sandra Eskin and Michael J. Bobbitt — the team that penned Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, and Jumanji — this new comedy leaps headfirst into Gooseville, where nursery rhymes you thought you knew are turned upside down, sideways, and spun like a spider on a waterspout. Not Your Mother’s Goose runs October 3 to November 2, and tickets are on sale now.
A Rhyming, Raucous Romp
“Opening our season with Michael J. Bobbitt and Sandra Eskin feels like welcoming old friends back to the playground,” says ATMTC Artistic Director Kurt Boehm. “This show has it all — the Itsy-Bitsy Spider who’s a little too daring, Mary who is still quite contrary, Jack who’s itching for trouble, and even a clock mouse with a knack for chaos. I can’t wait for audiences to fall head over tuffet laughing.”
When Hickory abandons his post on the Tickety-Tock Clock, time unravels: day turns to night, rain refuses to fall, and Mother Goose herself scrambles to keep the 100th Annual Peter Pumpkin Eater Harvest Festival from disaster. With friendship, teamwork, and plenty of mischief, the characters race to set things right before Gooseville’s happily-ever-after disappears for good.
Packed with zany wordplay, magical mishaps, and heartwarming lessons about community and friendship, Not Your Mother’s Goose! is the perfect outing for DC-area families looking for a theatrical treat that’s fun for little ones, nostalgic for parents, and clever enough to keep everyone giggling long after “the cow jumps over the moon.”
A Dream Team Bringing Gooseville to Life
Not Your Mother’s Goose! is directed by Helen Hayes Award–winner Serge Seiden, whose past Adventure Theatre MTC credits include Jumanji and the 2012 production of Charlotte’s Web. For Charlotte’s Web, Seiden earned a Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Director, Resident Play, while the production itself received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences. He also helmed A Little House Christmas in 2012, which received its own nomination for Outstanding Production, TYA. Seiden is the Managing Director of Mosaic Theater Company of DC, which he helped found in 2015. Seiden has led the company from start-up, through the pandemic and through a successful leadership transition to new Artistic Director Reginald L. Douglas. From 1990 to 2015, Seiden held many positions at Washington, DC’s Studio Theatre, including Stage Manager, Literary Manager, and Producing Director. Seiden was a key player in Studio’s 1996 and 2004 expansions, developments crucial to the re-emergence of 14th Street NW as a DC cultural hub.
Newcomer to Adventure Theatre MTC, Martina Schabron heads up the cast of Not Your Mother’s Goose! as the titular character, Mother Goose. She is joined by Irene Hamilton as Itsy (Charlotte’s Web, Sing Down The Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe- Helen Hayes Nominated), Ryan Sellers as Hickory (Five Little Monkeys), Walker Vlahos as Jack, Hannah Taylor as Mary, and Chelsea Majors as Gooseviller & Mother Goose Understudy (She Persisted, Sing Down The Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales). Understudies include Tobi Baisburd as Mary, Itsy, & Gooseviller Understudy (‘Twas the Night Before Christmas) and John Henry Stamper as Hickory & Jack Understudy.
Not Your Mother’s Goose! runs October 3 to November 2, 2025, at Adventure Theatre MTC, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD, in the historic Glen Echo Park. The show is recommended for all ages. Tickets are $26 each, with group, field trip, and birthday party rates available. Children under 1 are free. Tickets are $26 and can be purchased online or by calling 301-634-2270.
ABOUT ADVENTURE THEATRE MTC
ATMTC cultivates new generations of artists and audiences by creating memorable theatrical productions and by providing young people the highest quality musical theater training. ATMTC serves students at all skill levels and families from diverse communities, approximately 75,000 people annually.
Not Your Mother’s Goose!
A World Premiere Comedy written by Michael J. Bobbitt and Sandra Eskin
Based on traditional English nursery rhymes
Directed by Serge Seiden
CAST
Mother Goose: Martina Schabron
Itsy: Irene Hamilton
Mary: Hannah Taylor
Hickory: Ryan Sellers
Jack: Walker Vlahos
Gooseviller & Mother Goose Understudy: Chelsea Majors
Mary, Itsy, & Gooseviller Understudy: Tobi Baisburd
Hickory & Jack Understudy: John Henry Stamper
PRODUCTION CREW
Director: Serge Seiden
Set Designer: Megan Holden
Costume Designer: Paris Francesca
Resident Lighting Designer: Lynn Joslin*
Resident Props Designer: Andrea “Dre” Moore
Puppet Designer: Andrea “Dre” Moore
Sound Designer: Kenny Neal
Production Stage Manager: Shannon Saulnier
Assistant Stage Manager: Bryan Stopak
Production Manager & Scenic Charge: Dom Ocampo
Interim Technical Director : Megan Holden
*Member of the United Scenic Artists Local USA 829
