Magical Theatre Company is Northeast Ohio's only professional resident and touring Theatre for Young Audiences. Dedicated to bringing the finest quality theatre to the young and young at heart, we’ve brought Theatre Magic to thousands of families for 40 years. So bring your family to Magical Theatre Company and create memories that will last a lifetime!
We use the magic of live theatre to encourage children to read, develop critical and creative thinking, and to be curious about the world around them. We are dedicated to bringing the finest quality theatre to young people. At MTC we take stories from page to stage and make curriculum connections with theatrical experiences your students will talk about for years to come.
MTC provides quality, Professional Theatre for Young Audiences right here in Northeast Ohio, so come on and take advantage of it! Bring your Church, Scouts or Club to a performance at Magical Theatre Company, or have us come to you. Let the Magic begin!
Founded in 1972, Magical Theatre Company is a not-for-profit, resident and touring, educational and entertainment resource for young audiences and families. In partnership with schools and other organizations, we strive to become leaders in providing a positive cultural service. As a strong and energetic theatre serving Summit and surrounding counties, we enhance learning, growth and civic improvement through live Theatre.
Programming is made up of resident performances at the Park Theater for school and family audiences; touring productions to schools; and educational programs that include workshops, residencies, after-school programs, summer camps, and resource materials. These programs serve to introduce young people to the Theatre, provide positive messages through Drama, develop creativity, increase communication skills, build teamwork, and offer alternative methods to problem-solving.
In 1993, the Board of Trustees hired Holly Barkdoll and Dennis O’Connell to reinvent Magical Theatre Company. To do this they streamlined operations and redirected the artistic focus to be a professional company that would serve all young audiences and families. Since then, the long-standing debt has been retired, the budget balanced, and new programming introduced for middle school and high school students.
Current and recent collaborators are Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron Public Schools, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Barberton City Schools, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and Project Rise.
Magical Theatre Company has been accepted into the OAC’s Presenting/ Touring Program, and is a member of the Ohio Art Presenters Network, the Cleveland Theatre Collective, the Akron Area Arts Alliance, and Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio.
In 1997, a grant from the Ohio Historical Society enabled Braun & Steidl Architects to do a comprehensive study of the historic Park Theater. Phase I of this renovation was completed in December 2000, providing Magical Theatre Company patrons with heating and air conditioning, a restored facade, new marquee and new seats.
Magical Theatre Company received the inaugural Impact Award for Imagination from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation in 2010, the Outreach Award from the Akron Area Arts Alliance in 2003, and the Community Collaboration Award from Summit County Housing Network in 2003.