Orlando Family Stage will present the world premiere of The Best Halloween Ever, a new stage adaptation by mother-daughter writing team Jahnna Beecham and Skye Hillgartner. Based on Barbara Robinson’s beloved book, the production runs Oct. 10 through Nov. 1.
In the story, the Herdmans’ Halloween antics, from stealing candy to pulling pranks, lead the mayor to cancel traditional trick-or-treating. Instead, the community plans a supervised Halloween party at Woodrow Wilson Elementary. For the Herdmans, that might be even scarier.
“Halloween is about disguises, and tricks and scaring the living daylights out of your friends and being rewarded with candy,” said Hillgartner. “If that isn’t a perfect setting for the Herdmans, I don’t know what is.”
A Mother-Daughter Collaboration
The Herdmans are familiar territory for Beecham, who previously adapted The Best Christmas Pageant Ever as a musical with her late husband and longtime composing partner Malcolm Hillgartner. That production premiered in 2016 and has since been produced by theaters across the country.
Now, Beecham and her daughter are bringing their own take to the characters.
“The first thing we did was read the book sitting side by side on Mom’s bed, laughing and brainstorming about costumes and pranks and funny skeleton dances,” said Hillgartner.
The pair worked to turn Robinson’s collection of comic episodes into a cohesive play while preserving what they describe as her “wicked sense of humor combined with absolute heart.”
From Workshop to World Premiere
The production was developed with Orlando Family Stage, including a workshop and public reading during the theater’s inaugural Florida Children’s Book Festival earlier this year.
The team used audience reactions to help shape the production, listening for both laughter and quieter moments when audiences connected with the characters.
At its heart, The Best Halloween Ever looks beyond the Herdmans’ reputation and explores what happens when people take the time to understand one another.
“The Herdmans are smart, capable kids with good hearts that have been put in an impossible situation,” said Beecham and Hillgartner. “They are still kids. They are never the villains of the story.”
The Best Halloween Ever runs Oct. 10–Nov. 1 at Orlando Family Stage, 1001 E. Princeton St. in Orlando.
ASL interpretation will be offered Oct. 17 at 2 p.m., followed by a Relaxed Performance on Oct. 25 and an Audio-described Performance on Oct. 31. The Oct. 31 performance will also feature a Halloween Costume Parade.
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