For the Star Journal

ArtsPower National Touring Theatre will bring its newest children’s musical production to the Nicolet College Theatre when it presents The Monster Who Ate My Peas at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6.

Designed for those in grades K-2, the production tells the tale of little hero Danny, who faces the daily dinner-time dilemma of having to eat his peas.

Long the scourge of young children everywhere, peas are the one thing Danny wishes he could make disappear at just about any cost.

After much wishing, the monster Danny was hoping for to take care of his peas finally appears, ready to make a deal every time the dreaded green veggies are on his plate.

But each deal-for-peas requires that Danny give the monster one of his prized possessions. First, it’s his brand new soccer ball. Next time the peas need to disappear, the monster takes Danny’s brand new sparkling bicycle. The monster’s third deal is for something Danny could never part with . . . or could he?

Now it’s time for our hero to choose between the monster clearing his plate of peas or saying goodbye to that which is most dear to him. Will the boy make the difficult choice that could separate him from what he loves the most?

“We are very excited to bring this wonderful story to the stage,” said ArtsPower’s co-founder Mark Blackman. “The themes presented in our musical are timeless and resonate with all of us, particularly young children.”

Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for children and can be ordered online at nicoletlive.com or by calling (715) 365-4646.

Long a favorite of Northwoods families who have been seeing ArtsPower productions at Nicolet over the past decade, the troupe has been producing thought-provoking, literature-based, professional theater for young and family audiences since 1985.

More than 13 million people in 49 states – from Alaska to Florida – have experienced the theatre excitement that ArtsPower offers in hundreds of the nation’s top regional theatres, university auditoriums, and cultural centers, including The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Lincoln Center in New York.