“The Bridge to Terabithia” is no bridge to nowhere.
The production, which opens the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s James K. Steakley/Meyer Winer Youth Theatre season tonight, centers on two loners who forge a friendship in fantasy and the results of that friendship.
The play is written by Katherine Paterson and Stephanie Tolan, based on a 1977 book by Paterson that won the Newbery Award and is partially based on an actual event in the life of Paterson’s son.
The plot centers on Jess, a brooding, artistic fifth-grader, and Leslie, his new neighbor who has recently defeated him in a foot race.
The pair become fast friends, combining his love of drawing with her love of fantasy to create an imaginary kingdom across a creek in a woods near their home. It is in Terabithia, the imaginary kingdom, where they share their dreams and fears.