Some arts organizations use milestone anniversaries to remind audiences of their greatest hits. Not so the Children's Theatre, whose forward-looking 50th anniversary season is dominated by new shows, including five world premieres.

One of the biggest titles in the theater's just-announced 2015-16 roster is the musical adaptation of Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," with music and lyrics by New York music-theater composer Joe Iconis, direction by Chicago theater talent Rachel Rockwell and backing by Broadway producer Kevin McCollum ("Motown: The Musical," "Avenue Q" and "Rent"). The new season also includes the previously announced stage version of "Akeelah and the Bee," adapted by Cheryl West ("Jar the Floor") and helmed by Broadway director Charles Randolph-Wright ("Motown"). Both shows are world premieres.

"We take seriously our charge to educate and entertain audiences as we push the field forward," said artistic director Peter Brosius. "These shows delight, inspire and transform souls."

"Akeelah" (Sept. 1-Oct. 11) will transfer to a major East Coast regional theater after it closes in Minneapolis.

Whether "Wimpy Kid" (April 12-June 5, 2016) will move to Broadway is still an open question.

"If I predicted the future, I'd be a weatherman — and I'd be wrong more than I'd be right," said producer McCollum, who has two shows opening in Times Square this spring. "You put the right elements in the soup — we have a great creative team working in one of the country's best theaters — and hope to make something tasty."

The Children's Theatre's lineup also includes British director Greg Banks' new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" (Sept. 29-Dec. 6), about a scrappy kid who makes friends with the animals after becoming lost in the Indian wilds.

Furry and feathered friends, real ones, also show up in "Animal Dance," a new movement-based piece choreographed and performed by Ann Carlson alongside live goats, ducks, cats and other creatures (March 22-May 1, 2016).

Storyteller David Gonzalez brings the Russian folk tale "The Frog Bride" to life in a multimedia show that's gotten strong reviews in New York (Jan. 12-Feb. 28, 2016).

The Children's Theatre also taps the talents of Italian puppetry master Fabrizio Mon­tecchi for Jerome Hairston's stage adaptation of Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day and Other Stories." Brosius directs (Feb. 9-March 20, 2016).

The company's season does include one classic from its repertory. "The Wizard of Oz" will be its holiday offering (Nov. 3-Jan. 3, 2016).

"We're entering the next phase of our development as we bring great work to the stage," said Brosius. "This season, from the plays to the collaborations with other companies, from our apprentice programs to early childhood arts education, is one that points to where we're going."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390