THE CHILDREN'S THEATER COMPANY -

"…an acrobatically enhanced King Kunka Bunka and the Rotten Royal Rascals …an intriguingly original musical in rap with rousing Russian-style music and dance…and a salsa-fied… "Horton the Elephant…"

In New York you're never too little for the stage, and this company welcomes thespians as young as 4 or 5, as well as those much older. Its Spring-Summer Showcase is a round of short musicals, with the youngest actors performing an adaptation of the children's book "Miss Spider's Tea Party." Older members' offerings will include an acrobatically enhanced "King Kunka Bunka and the Rotten Royal Rascals," about a widowed monarch's search for an heir- an intriguingly original musical in rap with rousing Russian-style music and dance; and a salsa-fied world premiere of "Horton the Elephant," a musical interpretation loosely based on Dr. Seuss's story of a selfish bird and that loyal elephant who's "faithful 100 percent."

The Children's Theatre Company is exactly what it sounds like. Actors, some as young as 4, perform in short musicals, including an adaptation of the book "Miss Spider's Tea Party"; a show called "King Kunka Bunka and His Rotten Royal Rascals,". Is this town big enough for two Dr. Seuss musicals? Probably.

Performances are on weekends at 4:30 p.m at the Baha'i Unity Center, 53 East 11th St, Greenwich Village

Tickets: $12 Reservations required: (212) 633-6629

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Children's Theatre Company:
LETTING FREEDOM RING

By LAUREL GRAEBER

Although politics is practiced by adults, it always has effects on children. Young performers from the Children's Theatre Company are exploring those realities now in a production that draws on the writings of sages ranging from Dr. Seuss to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Created in honor of United Nations Human Rights Day (Dec. 10), the show draws on the talents of New Yorkers ages 4 to 15. Mehr Mansuri and Karida Griffith, the company's artistic directors, lead the children in a 90-minute show that includes dance, rap, poetry and music.

The program begins with the youngest thespians acting out David Kirk's picture book "Miss Spider's Tea Party," which, the

children point out, does have a political point: "learning to accept each other, no matter what background or bug you are." They also present Dr. Seuss's "Yertle the Turtle," a pithy statement on the abuses of power.

Performed with hilarious music by Lory Lazarus, it includes a country-western ode by Mack, the turtle who is literally at the bottom of society.

The second half of the program, which is geared to older children, includes a civil rights medley, several rousing songs by the group's music director, Eric Dozier, and a dramatization of Langston Hughes's poem "America." Interspersed throughout are quotations from historical figures like King, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller and Gandhi - mature words that sound all the more stirring when uttered by young voices.

The Children's Theater Company, through Dec. 30 at the Baha'i Unity Center, 53 East 11th Street, East Village, (212) 633-6629. Tickets: $12.

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