A Wrinkle in Time: A New Musical
Book by Lauren Yee · Music & Lyrics by Heather Christian · Directed by Lee Sunday Evans · Based on the novel by Madeleine L’Engle
An adventurous new musical adaptation that expands the world of the story — and asks what carries us through fear, across distance, and against the dark.
World Premiere
Arena Stage, Washington D.C.
June 12 – July 20, 2025
About the Show
A Wrinkle in Time is a classic, award-winning novel beloved by millions across generations — the story of Meg Murry, whose father, a physicist, has gone missing after experimenting with time travel and the fifth dimension. Since its publication in 1962, the book has been adapted for film, television, and the stage. But now, for the very first time, it sings.
This theatrical experience brings audiences into the magical fifth dimension at the heart of Madeleine L’Engle’s world. Heather Christian’s otherworldly, profound music makes us feel things for which there are no words, while the technical magic onstage carries us to planets far from our own. Join Meg on this epic quest — and discover that love, friendship, and courage light the way.
Why This Musical?
Thoughts from the team…
“The music is actually world-building — it transports you somewhere beyond yourself, but also maybe deep within yourself in a way you didn’t expect. We’ve spent years exploring how to render the most visceral experience of music that you could imagine in theater — music that pulses through the room and reaches right into you.”
— Lee Sunday Evans, Director
“It’s a book that’s kind of demanding of what it asks you to understand and where it asks you to go, and I think a musical can do the same thing.”
— Lauren Yee, Book Writer
“This adaptation doesn’t just tell the story — it immerses you in it, with music and movement and lights and vibrations that shift, collide, and expand like the universe itself.”
— Charlotte Jones Voiklis, Producer
Creative Team
Heather Christian
Music & Lyrics
Heather Christian is a Lortel, Drama Desk, and two-time Obie Award-winning composer/performer. A 2025 MacArthur “genius” grant winner, a 2021 Richard Rodgers Award winner, 2022 Stephen Schwartz Outstanding New Composer awardee, and Sundance Institute Time Warner Fellow, she makes music-centered shows and rituals that consistently land among critics’ best-of lists. She teaches vocal-based music composition at NYU and owns and operates her own recording studio in Beacon, NY.
“The luminous composer Heather Christian…makes my very short list of actual living geniuses.” — Sara Holdren, Vulture: The Best Theater of 2024
Lauren Yee
Book
Lauren Yee is one of the most produced playwrights in American theater. Her works combine sharp storytelling with deep empathy, and she holds a B.A. from Yale and an M.F.A. from UCSD. Honors include the Doris Duke Artists Award, the Whiting Award, the Steinberg/ATCA Award, an American Academy of Arts and Letters literature award, and a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton. She is a Residency 5 playwright at Signature Theatre and a member of New Dramatists.
“[Lauren Yee’s] pieces and performances grow together with an empathetic force and writerly dexterity that explain why the San Francisco native is in increasing demand all over the country.” — Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle
Lee Sunday Evans
Director
Lee Sunday Evans is a New York-based, two-time Obie Award-winning director and choreographer known for work that blurs the boundary between music, movement, and theater. She is the Artistic Director of Waterwell and her productions have been developed and presented at Sundance Theater Lab, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center, and Juilliard, among others.
Madeleine L’Engle
Author
Madeleine L’Engle was the author of more than 60 books, including the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time. Honored with The Margaret A. Edwards Award, The Regina Medal, and the National Humanities Award, she began her professional career in the theater, which she maintained was “the best school for a writer.” A Wrinkle in Time has been in print for over sixty years, has sold more than 10 million copies, and is consistently ranked among the top 100 books for children by both the National Education Association and the School Library Journal.
Press & Reviews
World Premiere Reviews
“Heather Christian’s mind-blowing, multidimensional music seems to arrive from a studio deep in the universe. Filled with wonders, it features some first-rate performances from a vocally splendid cast.” — Jesse Green, The New York Times
“The production, with a lush score by Heather Christian and a deft book by Lauren Yee, brings a spirit of heedless energy to Madeleine L’Engle’s time-and-space-traveling adventure.” — The Washington Post
“The score by Heather Christian is vibrantly original — the sort of nervy, complex songwriting that asks listeners to lean all the way in. There’s a touch of Sondheim in the lyrical density and tonal diversity of Christian’s score.” — Charles Isherwood, The Wall Street Journal
“Beautifully and richly imagined. Onlookers of all ages will be mesmerized.” — MD Theatre Guide
Video & Media
- Meet the Creatives of A Wrinkle in Time — hear from the team before the Arena Stage World Premiere
- Official Trailer from the Arena Stage World Premiere
- Listen: Heather Christian’s Animal Wisdom at Woolly Mammoth (2021)
- Heather Christian, Lee Sunday Evans & Ben Moss on Oratorio for Living Things at Ars Nova (2022)
What’s Next
Current Status & Next Steps
The production completed its World Premiere run at Arena Stage (June 12–July 20, 2025) to critical acclaim. Future production dates and venues to be announced. To keep informed, click here.