Claremont High School Theater Department’s first show of the 2019-20 season, 26 Pebbles, debuts at 7 p.m. tonight at the Don F. Fruechte Theater for Performing Arts, with a repeat performance at 7 p.m. tomorrow. 

Admission is free, but donations are accepted for the staged reading, which tells the story 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. The cast includes Claremont Unified School District faculty and administrators and CHS theater students.

The story is told from the perspective of the Newtown, Connecticut townspeople who experienced the tragedy firsthand. In the reading, they come together through community, compassion, resilience and love.

All proceeds from 26 Pebbles will go to Never Again MSD, a political action committee founded and led by student survivors from the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A post-show discussion will take place both nights.

Non-student performers include Dave Chamberlain, Ryan Pettibone, Linda Saeta, Tony Webner, Joe Tonan, Brian D’Ambrosia-Donner, Natalie Conzo, Cindi Simpson, Nancy Treser-Osgood, Wendy Crilly, Kathy Zetterberg and Talia Bowman.

The material in 26 Pebbles is not suitable for younger audiences. For information, visit chstheatre.cusd.claremont.edu or call (909) 624-9053, extension 30463.