For the first time ever a South Texas theater, namely Corpus Christi’s Harbor Playhouse, is staging “Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium.”

Tickets can be found on Harbor Playhouse’s website at harborplayhouse.com.

One of the lead actors, Abigail Martin, felt a certain kinship with her character, Brooke Rodgers.

“Brooke is kind of an upbeat, optimistic fun-loving girl who loves scary stuff and that’s me really,” Martin said.

The music also influenced her to audition as well.

“I loved the songs ‘Babbling Brooke’ and ‘Story of the Phantom,’ and they are my second and third most-listened songs on Apple Music right now,” Martin said.

Her portrayal has since drawn on her own experiences.

“I ask myself, ‘what would I do in this kind of scenario?’,” Martin said.

“‘Oh my gosh, this play is haunted! That is the coolest thing to have ever happened!’”

Another lead actor, Sarah Robinson, who portrays the theater teacher Ms. Walker, drew from her strengths to audition for the production.

“I knew I liked playing goofy, silly characters,” Robinson said.

“When I read more about the script and listened to the soundtrack, I felt like it would be a nice little thing to do.”

Based on the children’s book of the same name by R.L. Stine, “Phantom” centers around middle school students Brooke Rodgers and Zeke Matthews as their drama teacher, Ms. Walker, has her class stage the supposedly cursed play “The Phantom,” which saw a student die during its first production 73 years ago due to a trapdoor.

As the production struggles with the trapdoor, the creepy janitor Emile, and jealous set designer Tina, a new student, Brian Colson, enters with a surprising amount of knowledge about the play. Things then take an unexpected turn at the performance, after which Brian is nowhere to be seen.

After having been commissioned by an Oregon-based theater company, “Phantom” saw a simultaneous debut in both a Wisconsin and the Oregon theater in October 2016. A studio cast recording was released in 2021.

Having been a theater teacher herself, Robinson felt a certain connection to her portrayal of Ms. Walker.

“It’s been a lot of fun to draw on my experiences from past students I’ve had and past experiences I’ve had and translate that into this performance,” Robinson said.

Martin’s inspirations came from the ambiance of the theater itself.

“Sometimes I come in here early and just sit in here in the dark because it’s just creepy,” Martin said.

“I sit with the ghost light on and I’m like, ‘what if there are actually ghosts here?’”

Moreover, the parallels between her character and herself embolden her further.

“I love scary things, Brooke loves scary things, she has a best friend that she geeks out with all this about, so do I,” Martin said.

“This is perfect, and she wears glasses! It’s perfect!”

“Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium” opens at Harbor Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. After that, the production runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 27. Tickets are on sale now.

“This has been a fun reminder that theater is supposed to be fun, and it’s a good time for to play around and get together,” Robinson said.