THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 1, 2025 Page 13 Malden students take center stage at The Young Company’s Summer Festival 2025 I Join the Malden Public Library for Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England n this fun, fast paced improv game, authors Susan Cory, Toni L.P. Kelner and John Nardizzi, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand-new mystery, using suggestions from the audience! This event will take place on Tuesday, August 5, from 7-8 p.m. in the Maccario Room at the Library (36 Salem St.). Meet your authors: SUSAN CORY: According to her Malden students: Aiden G. and Abigail L. (appearing in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”); Corin A., Erikson K., Georgia L., Vivienne M., Nora T. and Joey W. (appearing in “Bye Bye Birdie”); Natalie K., Sophie L. and Addison M. (appearing in “Legally Blonde”) (Courtesy photo) G reater Boston Stage Company is proud to present its Young Company Summer Festival 2025, celebrating another season of imagination, growth and unforgettable performances! This year’s lineup features three fantastic productions: “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR.,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Legally Blonde.” Performances will run August 7–10 at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, Mass. “We are so excited for this summer’s festival!” says Greater Boston Stage Company’s Director of Education, Morgan Flynn. “Our students are taking on these classics with boundless energy and dedication. These shows are filled with joy, humor, heart, and plenty of surprises—and we can’t wait for audiences to see what they’ve created.” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang JR.”: performed by students in grades four through six, including Malden residents Aiden G. and Abigail L. Take flight in this magical musical adventure! This musical follows the eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, his children Jeremy and Jemima, and the enchanting Truly Scrumptious as they outwit villains and take to the skies in a fantastical flying car. Packed with whimsical characters, toe-tapping tunes and a whole lot of heart, this charming production is perfect for the whole family. “Bye Bye Birdie”: Performed by students in grades seven through nine, including Malden residents Corin A., Erikson K., Georgia L., Vivienne M., Nora T. and Joey W. “Bye Bye Birdie” takes audiences back to 1950s America, where teen idol Conrad Birdie sets hearts aflutter — and chaos erupts in Sweet Apple, Ohio. With show-stopping numbers like “Put on a Happy Face” and “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” this hilarious satire of celebrity culture is a crowd-pleasing favorite, brought to life by talented students. “Legally Blonde: The Musical”: performed by students in grades 10–12 and ’25 grads, including Malden residents Natalie K., Sophie L. and Addison M. Elle Woods is headed to Harvard Law — pink heels and all! “Legally Blonde” follows this underestimated heroine as she takes on stereotypes, the courtroom and her own self-doubt with style and smarts. Featuring an empowering story, catchy songs and lots of laughs, this high-energy musical is a celebration of staying true to yourself and owning your power. “We are so proud of these young performers,” says Education Associate Autumn Blazon-Brown. “The artistry and joy they bring to each rehearsal and performance is infectious. This summer is truly a celebration of their voices, their courage, and their incredible work.” All tickets are $25–$35. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 781279-2200 or visit www. greaterbostonstage.org. Group sales are also available. About The Young Company: Greater Boston Stage Company’s The Young Company helps the next generation become better artists, better audience members and better people through dramatic education. Through artistic training and performance opportunities, The Young Company develops life skills, such as confidence, self-discipline and collaboration, to inspire and prepare young actors for future creative engagement and success. About Greater Boston Stage Company: “We bring vibrant professional theatre and dramatic education beyond the boundaries of Boston, featuring world and regional premieres alongside fresh interpretations of familiar work. Within this setting, we uniquely foster the artists of tomorrow by providing ongoing performance and employment opportunities to our company of current and former students. Now in its 26th Season of live theatre in Stoneham, MA.” website, she “was an award-winning residential architect in Cambridge, Ma. before she retired to write mysteries full time. She earned a brown belt in karate and visited 100 coun tr i e s along the way. “Her mystery series, beginning with Conundrum, features Ir is Reid, also a Cambridge architect, as an amateur sleuth trying to uncover a murderer at her Harvard reunion. Susan found inspiration for starting this series at her own 20th architecture school reunion, not that anyone was killed then. That she knows of.” Her seven books in the series have won praise from Kirkus, who calls her sleuth “an appealing and believable hero” with supporting characters who are “outstanding” and “hone this remarkable story.” “Cory gleefully breezes through subplots and twists with a resourceful protagonist at the helm.” Her eighth book in the series, The Forger’s Daughter, is due out in August 2025. TONI L.P. KELNER is two authors in one. As Leigh Perry, she writes the Family Skeleton series featuring a walking, talking skeleton named Sid. The series debuted with “A Skeleton in the Family.” As Toni L.P. Kelner, she’s the author of the eight Laura Fleming mysteries and the three books in the “Where are they now?” series. She also coedited seven urban fantasy anthologies with NYT bestseller Charlaine Harris. In between novels and anthologies — and under both names — she writes short stories about pirates, PIs, serial killers, zombies and demonic phone calls. A dozen of her stories were recently collected in her most recent book, “The Skeleton Rides a Horse and Other Stories,” from Crippen & Landru Publishers. Toni and/or Leigh have been nomina t - ed multiple times for the Anthony, the Macavity and the Derringer, and she has won an Agatha Award for Best Short Story and an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. Her shor t story “Baby Trap” was selected for the anthology “Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024,” edited by S.A. Cosby and Steph Cha. JOHN NARDIZZI, according to his website, “is an award-winning writer and investigator. His crime novels have won praise for crackling dialogue and pithy observations of detective work. The Burden of Innocence earned a 2022 Shamus Award nomination for Best PI Paperback. He speaks and writes about investigations in numerous settings, including World Association of Detectives, Lawyers Weekly, Pursuit Magazine and PI Magazine. His work on innocence cases led to the exoneration [of] Gary Cifizzari and James Watson [he was awarded the Arc of Justice for the Watson case in 2021] as well as million dollar settlements for clients Dennis Maher and the estate of Kenneth Waters, whose story was featured in the film Conviction. Prior to his PI career, he failed to hold any restaurant job for longer than a week. He lives near Boston, Massachusetts.”
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