Spend a night out with your imaginary friends – or real ones – at Western Stage’s next musical production.

For many years, imaginary friends had a bad rap. Parents and psychologists worried that these childhood figments were the sign of mental health issues or some other social malady, and pop culture depictions mirrored these fears.

But things have changed – the stigma, at least from a scientific point of view, has subsided. Today, child psychologists say that imaginary friends are very normal and incredibly common – with some estimating that between 60 and 65 percent of all children under the age of 7 have some kind of imaginary companion. These kids aren’t socially maladjusted loners, either. In fact they are sociable and creative and tend to be slightly less shy than their counterparts without imaginary friends. Researchers have found that imaginary companions are often created as a tool for dealing with some kind of emotional challenge – an older sibling that no longer wants to play with a younger child, for example, or a conflict with a classmate. Imaginary friends seem to help kids practice these tricky social situations or confront fears.

Seen this way, a good imaginary friend sounds like a very helpful friend to have indeed.

This is certainly the case for Sam and Milo in the musical Imaginary, which opens Saturday, Aug. 5 at The Western Stage in Salinas. Milo (played by Victoria Jones) is Sam’s best (imaginary) friend, but as Sam (Anders Lindstrom) begins the school year at a new school, Sam’s mother worries that Milo is holding Sam back. What transpires at school, though (the plot involves an evil headmaster, some sinister technology and a strong moral about the perils of losing one’s imagination) proves quite the opposite.

The show involves a large cast of actors ranging in age from 12 to adult, and serves as an exploration of what it really means to “grow up.”

The play, with book and lyrics by prolific English playwright and writer Timothy Knapman and music and lyrics by Stuart Matthew Price, was first performed in 2017 at The Other Palace in London, England. Now, it comes to Western Stage’s mainstage as part of the community theater company’s 2023 season, directed by Joe Niesen and Michele Colvin Rogers.

IMAGINARY: A NEW MUSICAL 7:30pm Friday-Saturday and 2pm Sunday, Aug. 5-26. Western Stage, 411 Central Ave., Salinas. $30. 755-6816, westernstage.com