The Hundred Acre Wood is coming to life onstage in Milwaukee with the world premiere of Winnie-the-Pooh: Forever Friends, a new musical inspired by the beloved stories of A.A. Milne.
First Stage, one of the nation’s leading theaters for young audiences and families, will present the production from January 29 through February 28, 2027, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Performances will take place on weekends.
The new musical follows Christopher Robin as an adult who has recently retired and returned to his childhood home to be closer to his family. While caring for his grandchild, Alex, Christopher Robin finds himself reconnecting with something he has lost along the way: the ability to slow down, play and use his imagination.
The story begins to shift when an old childhood packing box is opened, bringing the Hundred Acre Wood and its familiar inhabitants back into Christopher Robin’s life. Pooh and his friends help Christopher Robin and Alex rediscover the value of imagination and remind them that childhood wonder does not have to disappear with age.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Forever Friends features a book by Scott Seidl and music by Alan Stein, with lyrics by Seidl, Stein and A.A. Milne. Robert Penola serves as creative development associate, while Jeff Frank and Michelle LoRicco contributed additional material. LoRicco directs the production.
The musical was developed following the entry of Milne’s original Winnie-the-Pooh stories into the public domain. Rather than simply recreating the familiar stories, the creative team has developed a new theatrical work inspired by the characters, themes and imaginative world of the original books.
The production also carries a personal significance for its creators. Seidl, an award-winning writer and director who died in 2025, spent decades working in theater as a performer, teacher, tour manager, writer and director. He was particularly committed to creating theatrical experiences that were joyful and welcoming for audiences of all ages.
Stein brings more than four decades of experience in entertainment, including work creating music and attractions for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. His career has included composition, conducting, arranging and musical theater.
The production’s creative team also includes First Stage leaders with extensive experience developing theater for young audiences. Frank, the theater’s executive artistic director, has directed more than 100 professional productions and has overseen the development of numerous new works for family audiences.
LoRicco, First Stage’s associate artistic director and director of Young Company, has directed productions including The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza! and Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”
Founded in 1987, First Stage has produced more than 70 world-premiere plays and reaches thousands of students annually through its theater education programs.
With Winnie-the-Pooh: Forever Friends, the company is bringing a familiar literary world into a new musical while exploring friendship, imagination, family and the idea that growing older does not mean leaving wonder behind.