Musical version of popular children’s book series is a full-circle moment for the Colorado actor/director.

Fun, silly, paschetti” is how Matt Zambrano, director of Junie B. Jones, The Musical, would describe this production in three words.

“Paschetti” is how the quirky first-grader Junie B. spells spaghetti, and these three words capture the playful spirit of the production playing now through May 8 at the Arvada Center.

Matt Zambrano

Junie B. Jones, The Musical is based on books 19 through 22 in Barbara Park’s series. The story centers on a nervous Junie B. entering first grade, where she soon realizes that first grade is very different from kindergarten. Junie B. navigates challenges like getting glasses, making new friends and learning to be herself.

“I think first grade is one of those times that’s a big moment in our lives, where we go from kindergarten where you’re drinking milk and cookies, you know taking naps, to like first grade where you actually have to learn stuff,” Zambrano says. “But as long as you go in there knowing who you are and you are always yourself, then you’re going to be just fine.”

Throughout the show, Junie B. and her classmates learn the message of self-acceptance by celebrating what makes each of them unique.

Andrea Camacho, Zambrano says, was the perfect ‘Junie B.’ for the role. | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

Finding Junie B.

Junie. B is a high-energy production packed with musical numbers. Finding just the right actors was key, Zambrano says.

When Cass Dunn, who plays Junie B., auditioned for the role, Zambrano says the creative team knew immediately they had found their Junie.

“After they walked out of their audition, all of us said, ‘That’s Junie.'” Dunn leads a cast supported by music director Keith Ewer, who has worked at the Arvada Center for over 20 years, and choreographer Taeler Cyrus, who recently choreographed the Arvada Center’s production of Frozen.

Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

A director’s favorite moment

In a production full of fun moments as Junie B. navigates first grade, Zambrano says the scene where she gets her glasses is his favorite because it’s so relatable.

“I didn’t have glasses, but I did have braces when I was a kid, and I remember that same feeling of, ‘Man, I’m going to have these and everyone’s going to think I’m a weirdo and nobody’s going to want to talk to me.'”

And then Junie B. sees it’s not such a big deal.

“She realizes that her classmates don’t really care about that. They care about her,” Zambrano says. The moment is captured in the musical number “Now I See,” where Junie B. celebrates that she can see the world — and herself — more clearly.

Coming home to the Arvada Center

Directing at the Arvada Center is a full-circle moment for Zambrano. When he was in second grade, he saw a production of 101 Dalmatians there — an experience he says stayed with him.

“They had this big cardboard cutout of all these other Dalmatians, and the actors would put their heads through some of the holes and at the end they’d stand there and wave — so it looked like there were a hundred actors on stage.”

He also remembers the actors coming out after the show to wave at the kids as they left.

Now directing Junie B. Jones, Zambrano says he wants to create that same magical feeling of seeing a show for the first time for a new generation of young audience members.

From bike crashes to Broadway dreams

Zambrano discovered acting in high school.

“I had a teacher who said, ‘You know, you’re really funny. Maybe you should be an actor. You should be in plays,'” he recalls.

Soon after, he auditioned for a part in William Inge’s classic play Picnic and was cast as a paperboy. On opening night, Zambrano — who didn’t know how to ride a bike — had to ride one onstage and promptly crashed into the set.

“When I crashed, the wall broke and the whole crowd was laughing,” he says. “I was embarrassed, but I also thought, ‘Hey, that’s kind of nice — I’ve never gotten a big laugh like that before.’ And that set me on the path to acting.”

Zambrano is a fixture on Colorado stages, appearing in Colorado Shakespeare Festival productions like The Tempest and Richard II last summer and the one-person show Every Brilliant Thing this past December at Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. As a director, he enjoys being “the hub of communication between designers, playwrights, actors and producers.”

He also runs The King Penny Radio Show with his wife, Libby. This summer, he heads west to direct The Book Club Play at Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Matt Zambrano as the Bishop of Carlisle in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of ‘Richard II’ in 2025. | Photo: Jennifer Koskinen

Advice for young theatre fans

“Try everything,” is Zambrano’s advice to young people interested in theater. He adds that exposure to theatre at a young age will help discover whether it’s your passion.

“Go see plays, take all kinds of different classes, take improv, take dance, take different kinds of dance, acting,” he says. “All of those things are going to inform you and tell you if that’s something that you might actually want to do.”

That’s a message, he says, that can be found in Junie B. Jones.

“It’s about celebrating who you are, and don’t be afraid to be who you are because who you are is awesome,” he says.