The Lunchbox Theatre is back

COURTESY PHOTO John Warren, Alesia Lawson, Rob Hagle and Rachel Lomax in ZAP! Florida Rep's theatre series for children and families is new and improved and ready to take Saturday mornings by storm.

The first new feature of Lunchbox Theatre is an expanded schedule. For the first time Florida Rep will offer 18 weeks of family entertainment. Beginning Jan. 5 there will be a performance every Saturday morning until May 10.

"We're all very excited about the new schedule," said the Rep's Education Director Jamie Carmichael. "The program needed to grow, and this is the first big step. But we're even more excited about our new home in the River District."

Florida Rep is partnering this season with The Brick Bar, 2226 Bay Street, and every Saturday morning at 11 a.m., the Brick Bar will be transformed into The Brick Bar Theatre.

"It is a wonderful space, and the perfect new home for the Lunchbox Series," said Rachel Burttram, Florida Rep's director of audience development. "It's a warm, inviting and intimate space with great atmosphere, and it is right here in the River District. It really embodies the new face of downtown."

Florida Rep had also added a play.

"In previous years we've produced only two plays, but this season we took on a third," Carmichael went on. "It's been a very positive experience. The plays are touring right now at schools in the area, and the reaction has been overwhelming."

The Lunchbox Theatre Series will present the three plays in rotation this winter and spring, giving parents and families the opportunity to choose a time that is best for their schedule. ZAP! will open the series followed by Ms. Courageous and then The Mischief Makers.

Tickets to Lunchbox Theatre are $12, and admission includes the performance, a boxed lunch provided by McAllister's Deli, and an interactive workshop with the cast. Purchase tickets by calling Florida Rep's box office at 332-4488. Please do not call the Brick Bar for ticket information.

Florida Repertory Theatre is located on Bay between Jackson and Hendry in the Historic Riverfront District, and the Brick Bar Theatre is just down the street at 2226 Bay St.