Muse Theater is taking audiences to Middle Earth with their production of "The Hobbit."
Based on the J.R.R. Tolkien book of the same name, "The Hobbit" follows Bilbo after he finds his quiet life interrupted and is suddenly thrust into an unexpected journey.
Bilbo will be portrayed by Katherine Jansson, with Dave Bond as Gandalf, Charity Telford as Thorin, Jonathan Semones as Bombur, Melissa Semones as Dwalin, Ella Johnson as Bifur, Shelby Orme as Fili, Katylinn Pacini as Kili, Hannah Jansson as Balin, Joseph Mackleprang as Nori, Landon Damas as Dori, and Will Holmes as Oin.
Johnson, Haley Kimlinger, Benjamin Cayou and Lydia Holmes play multiple roles.
The show will feature a large dragon puppet the cast and crew built themselves that measures to roughly 5 feet long and 3 feet wide.
"We've had a lot of new artists come in and work on set pieces for us and we've had a team of about six people to help with the puppet making," director Jennifer Kimlinger said.
Muse Theatre handles the community based plays, while Itsy Bitsy Broadway handles the educational classes.
"They've done a lot and I've had a lot of support and I think the payoff would be to have a wonderful, beautiful audience that we can perform for so that they can show what their hard work has been all about," Kimlinger said.
"The Hobbit" runs Tuesday through Oct. 7 at Itsy Bitsy Broadway inside Capital Mall, 3600 Country Club Drive. Evening shows begin at 6 p.m., with the Saturday matinee starting at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and can be purchased on itsybitsybroadway.com.
Ken Barnes/News Tribune photo: Smaug (Jon-Michael Rutter) speaks with Bilbo Baggins (Katherine Jansson) as Gandalf (Dave Bond) and the archer elves stand guard in The Muse Theatre Company's production of "The Hobbit."
Ken Barnes/News Tribune photo: Bilbo (Katherine Jansson), Gandalf (Dave Bond) and a band of archer elves make a visit to Smaug's cave in The Muse Theatre Company's production of "The Hobbit," which opens Oct. 5.