“Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia and Other Story Books,” complete with a cast of characters fresh from the pages of popular children’s books, will be presented by Story Salad Productions, at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 9, in Mitchell Hall as part of UD’s 2001-02 Family Performing Arts Series.

Served up by four talented theatre artists, “Good Driving” features Amelia and her driving instructor, and the comic results that follow when the literal-minded heroine gets behind the wheel.

Other stories in the program include “Ira Says Goodbye,” by Bernard Waber, where Ira must learn to cope when his best friend Roger moves away, and the “Mysterious Giant of Barletta,” an Italian folk tale retold by Tomie dePaola, in which a giant statue saves a town from a marauding army. In “Alligators All Around,” the book by popular author Maurice Sendak takes to the stage in the form of a rousing sing-along. A playful spider convinces all the animals that a melon can talk in the West African and Caribbean folk tale by Eric A. Kimmel.

Tickets for the June 9 show are $10 for the general public; $8 for faculty, staff, alumni and seniors; and $6 for students and children and may be purchased by calling the Hartshorn Hall box office at 831-2204 or by visiting the box office at the corner of Academy Street and Park Place. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A special buffet luncheon will be available before the performance at the Blue and Gold Club. The buffet begins at 12:30 p.m., with a menu that includes Amelia’s Favorite Chicken Soup with Rice, Sloppy Joes and Triple Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza. Cost is $12.50 for adults and $6.50 for children ages 5-11, gratuity included. For reservations and information, call 831-2582.

The Performing Arts Series and Family Series is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware, with support from Barba & Reynolds Insurance Agency, Embassy Suites-Newark/Wilmington South and Arby’s.

April 22, 2002