Love That Dog

Adapted by Andrew Frank and Jason Howard from Sharon Creech's award-winning novel, the one-person production stars Maya Riley (she/they) as Jack and is directed by Colin Peterson. It's recommended for ages 8 and up and their families, and every performance in the run is sensory-friendly.

October 9–18, 2026. Fridays at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance. Run time: Approximately 55 minutes, no intermission. Recommended for ages 8+ and their families. Younger and older siblings are welcome. Tickets: $18 grown folk (18+) / $12 small folk. Available at http://littlebluetheatre.org/productions/tickets Accessibility: All performances are sensory-friendly. Financial support and scholarship options are available.

The timing is not an accident. Love That Dog is on the fourth-grade reading list in Metro Nashville Public Schools this grading period, and the run falls over MNPS fall break — so the kids currently reading the book can see it staged, with a parent or grandparent, on a week they're out of school.

Love That Dog follows Jack, a young person who's sure poetry isn't for him — and who tells his teacher so, at length. He starts reading only because his grade depends on it. Slowly, he realizes poetry is a good outlet for what he's feeling, and that poets like Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, and Walter Dean Myers are… pretty cool. Eventually Jack starts writing his own poems, and they're all about Sky, his dog and best friend, who died after being struck by a car.

There are no graphic depictions of Sky's death, but like anyone who's grieving, Jack carries it with him. The show is funny, sad, and ultimately a story about resilience and the work of putting hard feelings into words. It's for anyone who's experienced loss, anyone who believes in working through feelings by expressing them, and anyone who likes poetry — even reluctantly. Rather than setting aside a single sensory-friendly performance, Little Blue builds each production that way from the ground up: no startling sounds, no sudden surprises, and an audience free to move, vocalize, and experience the show however feels comfortable. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance with books and coloring, so families can arrive and settle at their own pace.

"A lot of adults assume young people can't handle challenging topics like grief," said Peterson, Little Blue's Producing Artistic Director. "Kids handle tough topics all the time. They're whole people — they just haven't been on the planet as long as others. We want to honor the full, messy experience of being human, and loss is an inevitable part of that. Our job as artists and educators is to give young people characters and stories that don't talk down to them, don't assume all they want is spectacle, and recognize that they go through these things too. Experiencing those feelings through art is a good way to work through them — exactly like Jack does in Love That Dog."

Love That Dog runs approximately 55 minutes with no intermission. Parnassus Books is providing free copies of the novel for young audience members, hosting an in-store display for the production, and helping spread the word. Metro Parks provides the CPAS Black Box at no cost to the company. Support for Love That Dog is provided in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

About Little Blue Theatre Company

Little Blue Theatre Company is a Nashville 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2025 that produces professional theatre for and with young people, from birth through adolescence. "We believe that children are full human beings who deserve art that reflects the complexity, wonder, and depth of their experience." Accessibility, inclusion, and trauma-informed practice are written into the company's bylaws, which require that a majority of the board come from historically marginalized communities. Little Blue also runs classes, camps, early childhood tours, and school partnerships across Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

Because play is serious work. Learn more at http://littlebluetheatre.org.

Community event in Nashville, Davidson County, TN 37203.