Plays with a message attract large audience

People packed the Baha’i Center of Nassau County on Sunday to see three performances of the Children’s Theatre Company, which features musical adaptations of stories with strong moral themes.

“It was insane. We had standing room only,” said Mehr Mansuri, executive artistic director of the organization, which is based in Manhattan. She said the turnout at the Valley Stream location was unexpected.

The children performed adaptations of “The Ugly Duckling,” by Hans Christian Anderson, “The Butter Battle Book,” by Dr. Seuss, and “Rescue Me: A Musical History of Women.”

The group’s Valley Stream location has 40 local children between the ages of 5 and 20 enrolled, about double what it had last year. The local site opened in 2010, while the organization has operated in Manhattan since 1998.

Mansuri said the company provides “theater as a tool for moral reasoning.” She said the most common remark she hears from attendees is that they can’t believe children were capable of doing what they did.

“It’s a real testament to the resilience of the youth and the will of the community,” she said of the support necessary to put on the productions.