What is the most fun thing you can do to promote a healthy economic future for our community and our country? It might be taking your family to a childrens’ theatre production.

According to Peter Brosius, the artistic director of the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, “When you look at the U.S. and where the growth in the economy is, it’s evident that there’s a need for idea generators. Our country is not necessarily anymore a producer of goods. Our economy thrives because we’re a producer of ideas. Facts are just facts and as a society, with a touch of the calculator or a hit of Google, kids can find a factual answer. But that can’t teach a mind to be subtle and flexible.”

Theatre can help children develop the subtle, flexible thinking and has other benefits. In one UCLA study (Catterall, 1997), youth arts participation improves academic performance, bumps up standardized test scores, increases community service and decreases drop out rates, regardless of a child’s socioeconomic background. Theatre, and other arts, help connect the head to the heart.

So invest in the development of your kids and the economy by attending the Matchbox Childrens’ Theatre production of “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe on Feb. 16, 17 and 18.

The play is based on C.S. Lewis’s 1950 fantasy novel for children, the first in the “Chronicles of Narnia” series.

Most of the novel is set in Narnia, a land of talking animals and mythical creatures where the White Witch has ruled for hundreds of years of deep winter. Narnia is visited by four English children through the wardrobe of an old country house where they are escaping London’s wartime bombing. The good versus evil story has become a classic in childrens’ literature.

The Matchbox cast bringing this tale to life includes Jonathan Cochran as Aslan, Lia Culbert as the White Witch, Peyton Johnson as Lucy, Ed Dreyer as Peter, Ray Wicks as Edmund, Grace Anderson as Susan, Mandie Siems as Tumnus, Shawn Martin as Fernus Ulf, Jadon Fimon as Dwarf, Colin Walsh as Father Christmas, Laura Grote, McKenna Donovan and Olivia Felten as Elves, Isaac Zerke as White Stage, Kaiah Gibson as Unicorn, Logan Finnegan as Centaur, Andie Lewis as Mr. Beaver, Deidre Smith as Mrs. Beaver, Becca Wicks and Lydia Wik as Woodland Sprites, Abe Phillips, Marlea Emberson, Allie Alm, Serenity Netherton, Kate Rooney and Ariana Keefe as the Witch’s Army and Nadia Hummel, Adyson Wradislavsky, Lawson Schmit and Hunter Jensen as Aslan’s Followers.

Tickets are available now at $6 for students and $10 adults. Purchase tickets online at austinareaarts.org or at the ArtWorks Center, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Coming soon at the Paramount Theatre

•Feb. 11: MacPhail Spotlight, 7 p.m.

•Feb. 14: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 9 p.m. [Late show]

•Feb. 16-18: “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, 7 p.m. Feb. 16 and 17; 2 p.m. Feb. 18.

•Feb. 21: “Casablanca,” 7:30 p.m.

Coming soon at the ArtWorks Center

•Feb. 15 and 22: Introduction to Drawing with Bonnie Broitzman

•Feb. 20: Charcoal Portraits with Katie Hunnerdosse, 6 p.m.

•Feb. 23: ArtRocks Open Jam Session, 7 p.m.