The tale is about a five-legged mayfly who is seeking his lost leg on the moon.
Generations of German children have experienced this story: on school stages, in city halls, as well as through audio books and in films.
Nearly a century after the fairy tale was first performed in the German city of Leipzig in 1912, and 40 years after the first manned landing on the moon, the tale's protagonists, Peterchen and Anneliese, will soon be appearing in Dunedin.
It has taken months of hard work to prepare this theatrical version of Peterchens Mondfahrt (Peterchen's Moon Journey) at the Mayfair Theatre.
The show, with a cast of about 30, has been adapted for a New Zealand audience. It is performed in German, with an English-speaking narrator commenting on the scene transitions.
German language teaching staff at the University of Otago have put on an annual play for the past 55 years.
This is the longest unbroken series of German-language play productions at any university in New Zealand and Australia, organisers say.
Director Mareike Hachemer said the play had a strongly visual appeal, with flying children and mayflies, and the show's songs, including German folk songs, were also likely to be popular.
Making the show a reality had brought many challenges for the organisers, and also for the actors, the latter having, in most cases, learned German only as a second or third language.
"The actors have been working incredibly well," she said.
The play begins on Friday, with performances on Saturday and next Tuesday.
