“Mr. Silver’s Children”, a haunted musical fantasy written by West Peoria playwright Derek Childs

Buyer beware! That classic Victorian house with a For Sale sign on the grass may be an 1800s orphanage rife with homeless ghost children.

At least that’s the premise for Derek Childs’ play, “Mr. Silver’s Children”, a haunted musical fantasy which was featured at Peoria’s Apollo Theater Oct. 28-31.

The two-act play tells the story of the aging Silver’s, who lose their home in a fire and relocate to a seemingly abandoned orphanage. Mr. Silver soon discovers that some of the children, who have long ago passed away, still reside there, trapped by a magician’s spell.

Childs lives in West Peoria with his wife, Poppy, who performed in the play last weekend.

Childs penned the story and score in 1991 when he was a musical theater major at Anderson University in Indiana.

“I wrote it in college and it’s been rewritten and worked a few times,” Childs said. This is the third production. The first was in 1994 at my college, then I did one in 1999 in corn stock, then I resurrected it and here it is.”

A theater veteran, Childs repertoire boasts a broad range of accomplishments. He has written and produced a ballet and several musicals, including “Tired American Dream”, and “Clashing Tides”, two novels, “The Turning of Parish Story”, and “Zombie Anatomy 101” and around 1,000 pop and rock songs. Childs’ ballet is based on Alice in Wonderland.

Childs also has acted locally in a number of theatrical roles, and was cast as detective Jack Nobel in the independent film, “Out of the Heart.” Theater, music, writing and art have been life-long interests, Childs said.

“I started taking piano when I was eight, started writing in fourth grade and studied music and theater at ICC and Anderson University,” Childs said. “I really started listening to other music and going from there. It’s my life.”

Mr. Silver’s Children is a favorite of Childs, who hopes to take the play to a graduated level of theater in areas of Chicago, such as Drury Lane Theater and other such venues.

“Of everything, I think Mr. Silver’s Children is it’s the best of what I’ve written. It just works and I’m trying to get it to another level,” Childs explained. “It has difficult music. I’m a dreamer and I wrote it for a professional level. Not just anyone can sing it. You have to work on it.”

Child’s current troupe, including the young actors, he said, have adapted quite well to the score.

“We have a lot of people in our cast who have never done a show and they aren’t used to and they’ve risen to the challenge,”

Cassidy Miles-Coleman, one of the Mr. Silver’s orphans, whole heartedly

“It’s been an amazing opportunity,” Coleman said. “I love being in this show!”

For more information, on Childs’ work visit www.mrsilverschildren.com.

— Local playwright sees his work staged at Peoria theater —