by Mary Lincer — Nov 22, 2021
Kwame Alexander's 2010 picture book for the age 5-8 set, Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band, secretly serves as Jazz 101 for children the way Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Britten's Young People's Guide to the Orchestra introduce them to musical instruments. Alexander's book, with characters such as Mules Davis and Duck Ellington, not only brims with puns, it explicates jazz and packs its own gem of a glossary. His 2011 title, Indigo Blume and the Garden City, introduces his spunky 9 year old heroine who teaches an urban neighborhood to go green and make our garden grow. In 2020, Alexander blended some of the characters from both books to help children realize that the show must go on even when you're a little scared of getting up in front of groups and also that your parents love you. No. Matter. What The books are joys, but Alexander's and Mary Rand Hess' 2021 mashup of them into this 70 minute musical production, in the Family Theater of the Kennedy Center through November 28, has flaws. Let's get them over with so that the good news can follow.