Trip for the Wee Ones: Bustling 'Busytown'

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SO IT'S TIME FOR another day at the theater with the wiggly ones. But this this time around, forget what's proper and let them whip out that favorite sweatshirt and leave their "inside voices" at home. There will be no need for shushing in "Busytown."

Adapted by Kevin Kling from the books of Richard Scarry, and directed by Krissie Marty, Imagination Stage's hyperbolically jovial "Busytown" welcomes your weary, your figety and even your compulsive shouters.

Low on plot but filled with liveliness, the musical takes the audience on a tuneful romp through the bustling streets of Busytown — a trip on which audience participation is encouraged. So don't worry about the stares when your kid decides it's a good time to toot like a whistle.

Traveling on a very important mission to get Betsy Bear's (Emily Levey) grandma her increasingly tardy birthday card, Lowly Worm (a puppet) squirms to the airport then onto a train and finally arrives by boat at spunky ol' Grandma Bear's (Tiernan Madorno) house.

Meanwhile, the curious cat Huckle (lovably played by Matthew A. Anderson) holds down the central focus as he tries and tries again to bake a cake like he promised for his pal Betsy's grandma.

After a few failed attempts and a visit to the baker who sings him through it, of course, Grandma Bear is ready to celebrate. And Busytown's crisis for the day is averted. Whew!

» Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave.; through Nov. 2, $16.50-$18.50; 301-280-1660. (Bethesda)

Photo by Scott Suchman