Violet's Magic Glasses

Violet's Magic Glasses is a new family musical about a girl who struggles with reading and hopes a pair of glasses will solve the problem. Its subjects are learning differences, friendship and perseverance, and it is written for children ages 5 to 10 and the adults who bring them.

92NY, the cultural and community center on Lexington Avenue, presents the show in its Theater for Young Audiences season. The same season also includes Red Riding Hood, Seussical and Annie. The show has a short run of weekend-morning performances, each about 50 minutes long.

Violet is starting second grade, and reading does not come easily to her. Then a pair of glasses turns up, and she becomes convinced they are magic.

The musical follows what happens once she puts her faith in them. Friendship and perseverance are the other big threads. The tone is light, with humor, bright characters and plenty of songs.

Performances take place in Buttenwieser Hall, a flexible-seating room at 92NY with a small proscenium stage and a muraled ceiling. The stage is 18 feet wide and 10 feet deep, and the theater-style layout holds 248 people, a small house by New York standards. The hall is part of 92NY's original 1929 building and reopened in 2023 after a renovation.