The Daily Times

One of the nation’s elite theater troupes is bringing a tale of laundry monsters and lost stuffed animals to Blount County this week.

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences will deliver two performances of “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical” Tuesday at the Clayton Center for the Arts.

The musical’s 9 a.m. performance is sold out, while seats are still available for the 12:30 p.m. performance, said Robert Hutchens, the center’s executive director.

The center will also make several concessions for its young patrons, he said. “If lunchtime is a problem, students can bring their lunches and eat in the balcony.”

Students from Knox, Monroe and Sevier counties have made plans to attend the play, Hutchens said. Tickets are $5, and children who receive free- and reduced-price lunches will be admitted free.

Adults are also welcome to attend the production, he said.

The play is based on Mo Willems’ award�"winning picture book about a young girl, Trixie, who loses her stuffed bunny at the laundromat. Willems wrote the play’s script and lyrics, and Michael Silversher wrote the music.

“Chock full of adventure, song, and gigantic dancing laundry, “Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical” tells a tale of firsts: a stuffed animal’s first trip in the laundry, a little girl’s first words, and a daddy’s first time dealing with his child going ‘boneless,’” according to a description on The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences’ website.

Willems this week talked about the touring production in an interview with The Daily Times.

“It’s been a very interesting experience for me,” he said. “In many ways, it’s a love letter to my daughter. It’s about a spunky kid and a hopeless father.”

Willems spent 1�1/2 to 2 years on writing, and rewriting, the play and attending rehearsals. “It’s the first piece of larger theater that I’ve worked on in my career.”

The author said he enjoyed the creative process. “We got to expand on the book but deal with the interior imagination of the daughter. We added giant dancing laundry and battle sequences. I hope that audience members enjoy watching it. I certainly had a great time making it, and I think it translates to the stage.”

Willems said his favorite part in the play is a love song between the father and daughter. Many children, however, prefer a battle sequence in which the father rescues the stuffed bunny from the giant laundry monster.

He declined to reveal the play’s message. “It’s up to the audience to decide what it means, but it has many common themes like family and communication. It’s really about three basic things: Being understood, being loved, and getting your laundry done.”

You must be logged in to Facebook to comment. If you're not logged in to Facebook, a login window will open when you click "comment". Or you can log in now. You may need to refresh your page after logging in via that link.