Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Youth Campers to Stage ‘Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR.’ in South Pasadena This Weekend

Schoolhouse Rock Jr. by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall, presented by Young Stars Theatre Academy and starring an ensemble of youth camp performers, runs until July 19 at Fremont Centre Theatre. Photo Courtesy of Young Stars Theatre Academy.

A cast of summer campers will present four performances of Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. at the Fremont Centre Theatre on July 18 and 19, closing a two-week session of Young Stars Theatre Academy’s summer camp.

The show is the culminating production of the academy’s first summer session, a program in which participants ages 6 to 18 rehearse and stage a full musical over two weeks, according to Young Stars Theatre Academy. The nonprofit youth theatre company is based in South Pasadena and has drawn campers from families across the San Gabriel Valley, according to The South Pasadenan. The session runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., from July 6 to July 19, and every camper appears in the closing weekend, the academy says. The four performances are divided between two shows Saturday and two Sunday.

Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. is a junior stage adaptation of the 1970s animated series Schoolhouse Rock!, which aired on ABC beginning in January 1973 and taught grammar, math, science, history and civics through short musical segments. The stage version, with a book by Scott Ferguson, George Keating and Kyle Hall, premiered in Chicago in 1993 and moved off-Broadway in 1995. It is licensed for youth productions through Music Theatre International.

The musical follows Tom, a young teacher nervous about his first day, who turns on his television and finds the show’s characters coming to life to help him prepare his lessons. Its songs, drawn from the original series, include “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill.” The music and lyrics are credited to Lynn Ahrens, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Kathy Mandry, George Newall and Tom Yohe.

The session is produced under the direction of YSTA program director Gloria Bennett. Bennett and her late husband, Jack Bennett, founded the academy in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in 2000 and moved to the Los Angeles area in 2004, according to the academy. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and stages productions year-round with all-youth casts.

The Fremont Centre Theatre is at 1000 Fremont Ave., Suite 100, South Pasadena; the academy’s phone number is (626) 269-3609. Showtimes, ticket prices and livestream options are posted on the academy’s ticketing page at ystacademy.com/buytickets.

Schoolhouse Rock Live! JR. is the first title in the academy’s 2026 summer camp lineup. A second session staging the same musical runs July 20 to August 2, and the summer schedule concludes with a one-week Broadway revue in early August, according to The South Pasadenan.