Penrod loves to daydream and write stories, but he also manages to get himself in lots of trouble. Penrod and his friend Sam meet Herman and Verman, two new boys who just moved into town. The four boys set up a carnival type show for the neighborhood kids. Penrod’s crush, Marjorie, comes over and asks Penrod if he will take her and her brother, Mitchy-Mitch, to the real carnival in town. Once there, Mitchy-Mitch gets upset which makes Marjorie mad at Penrod, and they both leave him. Penrod is so sad that when he meets Rupe Collins, a carnival worker, he becomes convinced to run away and join the carnival. Later that night, when Penrod is running away with Rupe, Herman and Verman show up and defend Penrod from Rupe, who is secretly a theif trying to steal Penrod’s belongings.

“Penrod is an Americana-type musical to boot, celebrating small town nostalgia… Olson’s script neatly and efficiently details a lot of the characters.” -Minneapolis Star Tribune