If You Give A Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books

Every year, TheatreworksUSA, one of the oldest continuing family theatre companies in New York, provides free theatre for kids and their families. This year, their offering is the smart and whimsical If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books, a collection of eight short musicals based upon popular picture books. With Broadway talent involved on both sides of the footlights, this show is an ideal way to introduce children to theatre. The stories are short enough to hold even a toddler's attention (and the entire performance runs a mere hour), the subject matter is gently educational as well as entertaining, and best of all, the show never condescends to its audience.

Each mini-musical in the show is created by an individual set of writers, giving each story a unique style and sound. A Nigerian folktale is updated with a rap/hip-hop beat. A Mexican story of a clever lamb and a hungry coyote is performed to mariachi music, complete with exaggerated accents and cardboard guitars. Other stories have more traditional sounds that conjure styles from Jerry Herman to Sesame Street

On that note, it should be mentioned here that Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, the Tony-winning creators of Avenue Q, contributed both a three-part adaptation of David Small's Imogene's Antlers and a Latin-flavored musicalization of Verna Aardema's Borreguita and the Coyote to the show. While the chance to see new work by Lopez and Marx may attract more parents than normal to a children's show, the contributions of the other composers, lyricists and librettists are just as deserving of praise and attention. Jeremy Desmon and Patrick Dwyer's adaptation of Laura Joffe Numeroff's titular story is fast-paced and funny; Kirsten Child's Amazing Grace (based on Mary Hoffman's inspiring book) is surprisingly poignant; Aaron Shepard's Master Man (based on a Nigerian tale) gets a decidedly urban rhythm from Jordan Allen-Dutton, Erik Weiner and James-Allen Ford; Jon Scieszka's Math Curse gets a smart reworking by Mindi Dickstein and Daniel Messe; and Faye Greenberg and David Evans' adaptation of Kevin Henkes' Owen is sweet and endearing.

The cast of six ably leaps from story to story, playing animals and humans (and humans with animalistic qualities) with plenty of humor and skill. Stephanie D'Abruzzo (of Avenue Q fame), Farah Alvin, David A. Austin (both of whom starred with Ms. D'Abruzzo in I Love You Because), Carla Woods, Nick Blaemire and Aurelia Williams share a wonderful chemistry and sense of timing that add plenty of vibrancy and vitality to the material. Like the short musicals in which they perform, they work just as well as a group and as individuals. Kevin Del Aguila's direction keeps the energy high and the pace fast, moving from one story to the next before a child's attention might begin to wane. Rob Odorisio's economic set emphasizes the bookish nature of the show's concept, recreating each book's cover on large canvasses that can be turned around to serve as any backdrop. Likewise, Martha Bromelmeier's costumes are simple and effective, nicely differentiating between child and adult and human and animal while never becoming a distraction from character or story.

On a somewhat personal (though not entirely unrelated) note, I remember, as a child, visiting London's West End with my parents, where my family saw such classic gems as Little Shop of Horrors, Evita, and 42^nd Street, among others. I was surprised to learn, upon returning to the States, that all of these shows were running in New York, an hour's drive from our suburban home. Why had we flown across the ocean to see these shows when we could have stayed in the tri-state area? Because, my mother told me later, it was less expensive to see them in another country than in our own time zone.

I give much credit to that trip to London for my current love of theatre, and I am grateful that, as ticket prices on Broadway soared, my parents continued to find ways of keeping me involved in the arts. It must not have been easy. Had my parents known of TheatreworksUSA's existence, the chore might have been much easier. May many families take advantage of Theatreworks' generosity, and may the next generation of theatre-goers learn early to demand quality in their entertainment. Judging from the enthusiastic crowd at Tuesday's performance, families don't need to fret about affording tickets to The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. There is plenty of joy and magic at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.