A professional children's theater company in Mount Pleasant is bringing one of the most beloved mischief-makers in kids' literature to the stage this holiday season. WonderStage will present five performances of “Junie B in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!” on Dec. 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20, 2026, at Encore Music Hall, with the story centered on Junie B. Jones hatching a Secret Santa scheme against her classroom nemesis, May.
A Grade-School Grudge Takes Center Stage
In the production, Junie B. Jones gets excited about her school's holiday sing-along and Secret Santa gift exchange, only to draw the name of May, the class tattletale she can't stand, according to fameperformingarts.org. Rather than play nice, Junie B. comes up with what the company describes as “the perfect plan to teach her nemesis a lesson,” setting off the comic chaos that fuels the show. The production is based on Barbara Park's bestselling children's book series, which has introduced generations of young readers to Junie B.'s unfiltered first-grade worldview, as reported by the Moultrie News.
The show runs at Encore Music Hall, located at 757 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant, and clocks in at approximately one hour, per the company's event listing. WonderStage designs its productions for children ages 2 and older when accompanied by an adult, and kids 18 months and under can sit on a caregiver's lap for free.
Professional Actors, Not Student Performers
What sets WonderStage apart from many youth-oriented stage programs is its use of paid, working theater professionals rather than student performers. The company is billed as the professional children's theater company of FAME Performing Arts, serving young audiences and families across the Charleston Lowcountry, according to the Moultrie News account of the production. That structure also opens a door for teenagers: WonderStage creates opportunities for emerging artists through FAME's Mainstage pre-professional internship program, which the company says gives teens the chance to work directly alongside the professional cast both onstage and behind the scenes.
Jen Blanton, who founded both FAME Performing Arts and WonderStage, has said every child deserves the opportunity to experience the magic of live theater, per the Moultrie News. FAME Performing Arts is based in Mount Pleasant and offers broader performing arts education and enrichment opportunities beyond the WonderStage productions themselves, with WonderStage specifically aimed at making professional-caliber performing arts accessible to children across the region.
Where to Find Tickets
Tickets for “Junie B in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!” are available through fameperformingarts.org/wonderstage, according to the Moultrie News report on the production. Families looking to catch the show have five dates to choose from in December, giving them options across three separate weekends leading into the holidays.
