Looking for a fun class field trip? Live performances reinforce classroom learning, ignite creativity, and help young people develop a lifelong enthusiasm for the arts. The School Performance Series at SOPAC complements classroom lesson plans by engaging students in entertaining and educational performing arts experiences that support the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards.

Seating is reserved by school group. When booking, please let us know of any special accommodations or wheelchair accessible requirements so we can make every effort to accommodate the needs of your school group.

2025-2026 School Performance Series Schedule

 

PANTO’s The Little Mermaid

Friday, November 21 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: K – 4

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Music, Language Arts, Social Studies

The Panto Company USA brings their award-winning adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson’s story to the US. The show follows the dreams of a young girl who believes there is a better life for her out of the water. Of course, there’s a handsome prince, an evil witch, and boatloads of adventures and laughs along the way. With stunning scenery, eye-catching costumes, original songs and not forgetting loads of audience participation, this show provides children and educators alike with the perfect theatre experience.

 

LUX Orchestra

Tuesday, November 25 at 9:30AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: 3 – 6 

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Music, Language Arts, Social Studies

Ticket Price $15

LUX – An Orchestra Like No Other! 

Bold. Dramatic. Visionary. LUX Orchestra is an explosion of light, sound, and music. 

Founded by conductor and composer Brent Chancellor, LUX, in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Link Up and South Orange Performing Arts Center, presents a new vision for classical music specifically aimed at inspiring young audiences. LUX merges high-energy performance, dynamic lighting, and synchronized projections to introduce students to the orchestra in a uniquely engaging way. 

 

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Wednesday, December 10 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: K – 4

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Music, Language Arts, Literature, Social Studies, History

It’s Christmas time at the Ypsilanti Zoo, and everyone there eagerly anticipates the birth of Bella, the zoo’s first baby hippo. Seven-year-old Lois Jean, the zookeeper’s daughter, is especially excited—she’s counting on Bella to reunite her family in time for the holidays. Then the unexpected happens, and only one person can prevent tragedy. Will Santa arrive in time to save Bella—and Christmas? A heartwarming musical adventure for everyone!

 

Tired Souls: King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Wednesday, January 15 at 10AM

Thursday, January 16 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: 3 – 8

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Literature, Social Studies, History

Tired Souls opens in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955 – the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white man. Her determination was the catalyst that inspired Montgomery’s black citizens to abandon all travel on city buses until they were no longer forced to sit in the back or stand when a white person boarded. But there were others who came before Mrs. Parks and laid the groundwork for this pivotal moment. Tired Souls introduces audiences to Jo Ann Robinson, Claudette Colvin and others so instrumental in lighting a fire under the Civil Rights movement and changing the course of U.S. history forever.

 

The Math Maniac Show

Friday, February 20 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades/Ages: K – 5

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Language Arts, Math

THE SHOW THAT MAKES MATH FUN!
In his fast-paced, up-beat and highly visual demonstrations, The Math Maniac proves that learning math and fun go together naturally. And because the content of this program is 100% supportive of core curriculum in math, whether students are reviewing the material, previewing the material or learning the material for the first time, not one minute is wasted, not one learning opportunity is lost! Students have so much fun they don’t even know they’re learning.

This program will help K-6 students hone their skills in: · ARITHMETIC · PATTERNS · PLACE VALUES · WORD PROBLEMS · FRACTIONS · MEASUREMENT · GEOMETRY · MONEY · OPERATIONS · WORD PROBLEMS · PROBABILITY

 

Alice in Wonderland

Friday, March 13 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: K – 6

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Music, Language Arts, Social Studies

When Alice chases the White Rabbit down a rabbit hole, she tumbles into a curious world with a zany cast of characters, including the Mad Hatter, a grinning Cheshire Cat, a mischievous Caterpillar, and the imperious Queen of Hearts. This musical adaptation of the timeless classic celebrates the wonder of imagination and promises to take you on a colorful adventure for students of all ages!

 

Click, Clack, Moo

Tuesday, April 7 at 10AM

Running Time: ~ 60 minutes

Recommended Grades: K – 4

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Language Arts, Math

“Cows that type? Hens on strike! Whoever heard of such a thing!” Farmer Brown cries.

When his granddaughter Jenny comes for a visit, Farmer Brown declares the farm a tech-free zone. He takes her laptop in the cold barn with the shivering cows who use her computer to type messages requesting blankets.

“No way,” replies Farmer Brown. “No blankets!”

So the cows go on strike, and the chickens join them in solidarity. No blankets? No milk! No eggs!

Will Farmer Brown give in to the animals’ demands? Will Jenny get her computer back? Find out in a hilariously moving musical about negotiation and compromise, based on the Caldecott Honor Book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.

 

Bill Blagg’s The Science of Magic

Monday, May 11 at 10AM 

Running Time: ~60 minutes

Recommended Grades: 1 – 5

Curriculum Connections: Visual and Performing Arts, Music, Language Arts, Social Studies

For centuries, magicians have used scientific principles to make people levitate in mid-air and vanish in the blink of an eye. Illusionist Bill Blagg’s one-of-a-kind educational experience, The Science of Magic, takes students on a rare, never-before-seen journey “behind the scenes” of the magic world. Students will discover firsthand how magicians use science to create the impossible! Bill’s comedy-filled, action-packed presentation is highly interactive and makes science fun and exciting! Students will use the Scientific Method to levitate one of their teachers in mid-air and even learn how the science of reflection can make their homework magically disappear! In addition, Bill even performs some of his mind-blowing, grand-scale illusions with a scientific twist! Bill caps the show off with an incredible display of the water cycle by making it snow from his bare hands! Students will watch in amazement as science creates magic right before their very eyes! The Science of Magic is designed to excite, educate, intrigue, and promote students to think “outside the box” and spawn their curiosity about how science and the Scientific Method are used by magicians to create the impossible!

Ticket Price Info

Tickets start at only $9
SAVE MORE When You Bring a Large Group
Fewer than 50…$13 per person
50-99…$12 per person
100-149…$11 per person
150-249…$10 per person
250 or more…$9 per person

To book your school group reservations, please contact Linda Beard at (973) 382-1035 or education@sopacnow.org.

 

SOPAC’s Arts Education programs are generously sponsored by