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Charlotte's%20Web%20Hero_edited.jpg

By Joseph Robinette

Directed by Nikki Henderson and Charli Haskell

January 15 - 30, 2021

What's it about?

Charlotte's Web, was written by E.B. White and published in 1952. When praising this novel in the New York Times, fellow author Eudora Welty described it as 'a book about friendship on earth, affection, and protection, adventure and miracle, life and death, trust and treachery, pleasure and pain, and the passage of time…just about magical in the way it is done.

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Charlotte's Web is the story of Wilbur the pig and his friendship with Fern, the little girl who adopts him, and his barnyard friends - most importantly, Charlotte the spider. When a pig gives birth to a litter of piglets at the Arable farm, Fern's father, Mr. Arable, decides to slaughter Wilbur because he is the runt, but Fern persuades him to let her keep him.  When Wilbur is strong, he's sent to live at the farm of Mr. Zuckerman, Fern's uncle, where Fern goes to visit him as often as she can. Wilbur still misses her, however, and is lonely in his new home until a spider named Charlotte befriends him, and he gets to know the other barnyard animals as well. Once Wilbur learns of his fate to be slaughtered, Charlotte agrees to help him, and she begins spinning words in her web to describe Wilbur, the first being 'Some Pig.'

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When Zuckerman notices the message in the web over Wilbur's pigpen, he thinks it's a miracle. Charlotte continues spinning miraculous messages in her web, like 'terrific' and 'radiant,' attracting much attention. When Wilbur is entered into the county fair, Charlotte and Templeton the Rat accompany him so that Charlotte can continue her work and make Wilbur famous. At the fair, her messages draw many crowds, and Wilbur is praised by all who see him.

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During this time, Charlotte is spinning a sack for the eggs she will be laying, but she is also reaching the end of her life and sadly tells Wilbur that she won't be returning to the barn with him after the fair. She entrusts him with her eggs, and he takes them back to the Zuckerman barn, guarding them until they hatch. Most of the spiders leave, but three stay behind and befriend Wilbur, who lives a long and happy life surrounded by Charlotte's descendants.

$28 for Adults

$25 for Youth and Seniors 

(Plus booking fee of just 30 cents per ticket!) 

What you need to know:

  • Tickets are available online at Trybooking, at Gisborne iSite, or at the theatre 45 minutes prior to showtime. 

  • You can get information about the venue here.

  • There will be one 15-minute interval.

  • This production is rated E for Everyone!

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