On January 15, the Kennedy Center Theater for Youth Audiences will present the intelligent and catchy musical, The Phantom Tollbooth. Now if you’re not familiar with the story, at first glance it may sound like some sort of crazy horror play involving apathetic city workers that collect money from motorists and make change. Not the case. The musical is based on Norton Juster’s inventive children’s story of the same name. With a score by Arnold Black and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (who won the Pulitzer Prize and three Tony awards, by the way), The Phantom Tollbooth deals with a boy who receives a miniature tollbooth in the mail. Now you might be thinking, “well who hasn’t gotten one of those in the mail?” but, in truth, the tollbooth becomes the catalyst for a wonderful adventure that places a heavy emphasis on the virtues of knowledge and learning, while simultaneously warning against the demons of ignorance, which include such favorites as Hindsight, Exaggeration, and Excuses. The land of Wisdom is a land of metaphor where letters are grown on trees and numbers are mined like precious minerals. The Phantom Tollbooth promises and exciting and unique experience for audiences of all ages, reminding everyone how important it is to think, read, and avoid those metaphorical concepts that make life just a little bit more miserable.

    The Phantom Tollbooth • Thursday, Jan. 15 • Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, 316 Eau Claire St. • 10am and noon • $8 adults, $5 students • 832-2787 • www.eauclairearts.com