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PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS BENNION

ROAD HOG. Huckle Cat (Matt Wolfe) chases a pig driving a car as Lisa Estridge, Khanh Doan and Allen Galli provide back-up in Seattle Children’s Theatre’s world premiere of “Busytown. ”

‘What do people do all day?’ ponders Huckle Cat in ‘Busytown’

By Peg Doman

Seattle Children’s Theatre’s (SCT) “Busytown” is a hoot. It is based on several stories by children’s author Richard Scarry.

The central character is Huckle Cat, who wonders, “What do people do all day?” “Busytown” answers this query. All the regular Scarry characters are there: Huckle Cat (Matt Wolfe, who played the rabbit in “Good Night, Moon”); his mother Grocer Cat (Lisa Estridge, who also plays the mailman with a constantly increasing roll-around bag); Sergeant Murphy, the policeman on a motorcycle (Allen Galli); the air mail pilots and mechanic, dock workers, the Gorilla who steals bananas, Farmer Alfalfa (Auston James, who was the snail and a bird in “A Year with Frog and Toad” and Horton in “Seussical”) who grows the food; the construction workers who build a house; Stitches the tailor (Khanh Doan) who sews clothes; and the iconic Lowly Worm is his apple car.

Lowly is a particularly interesting character. He is a puppet of a worm that has no hands or legs and a shoe on the bottom of his body. It is surprising how adept Don Darryl Rivera is at moving him in a sinuous manner and how much action is accomplished. I am not surprised at Rivera’s dexterity but at how animated Lowly is.

Little boys in particular will love the vehicles in this show. There is a radio-controlled pickle car with a pig driver that pops wheelies. There is a radio-controlled fire engine that zooms all over the stage to put out a fire that Huckle inadvertently starts. There are little vehicles that race around the stage on tracks that are set in the floor. There is a four-story vehicle containing the very fertile Rabbit family. There is even an airplane that flies on a wire and another that flies on a track on the back wall.

“Busytown” was written by Kevin Kling, a writer and National Public Radio commentator who was recently seen at Seattle Repertory Theatre in his hilarious and touching production of “How, How, Why, Why, Why” and his humor is apparent in the action and the lyrics of the songs. The music by Michael Koerner is sprightly and entertaining.

There is much physical humor in “Busytown” and the production is charming. Although SCT plays are for children, there are always references and humor enough to appeal to the adults. It is just good theater.

“Busytown” runs through June 15. For tickets and information, call the SCT box office at (206) 441-3522.

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