A crazy mixed up school comes to life

November 19, 9:23 AMChildren's Books ExaminerLori Calabrese

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      Cover of Sideways Stories from Wayside School

Know Theatre in Cincinnati is bringing a hilarious children's book series to life in a holiday production of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. John Olive's adaption of the series demands the audience come along for the ride and flex their imagination muscles to keep up with the bizarre goings on at Wayside School.

The series of three books, written by Louis Sachar (Sideways Stories from Wayside School), tells the bizarre happenings at Wayside School. There was a bit of an error made in the construction of Wayside School. Instead of making thirty classrooms side by side, it was built one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high…except for the 19th floor which seems to have been forgotten.

In this theatre adaptation, you'll have the opportunity to join students Myron, Bebe, Leslie, Rondi and Dameon for a series of strange encounters and skewed adventures. You’ll enjoy such oddities as Mrs. Gorf – the meanest teacher in the history of Wayside School, Ms. Jewls' magic blackboard, talking pigtails, figures appearing in mashed potatoes, dead rats, and the ethereal Miss Zarves who may or may not reside on the mysterious missing 19th floor.

The books were so popular, they also released a spinoff, which involves two books of mathematics and puzzles interspersed with stories: Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School and More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School.

All kinds of funny things happen in the books, so I can only imagine that this family friendly comedy will entertain even the young at heart. What can happen in a mixed-up school that's 30 stories high? If it's Wayside Elementary, just about anything.

The adaptation kicks off with it's opening night on November 28th and runs until December 26th, 2009. For more information, you can visit the Sideways Stories website or call 513.300.5669(KNOW).