Morgan Lynn Sterrett and Lola Kernell in Just Ask! (Paul Andrews)
I’m not sure precisely how many cities can boast of having created and produced a new play based on a bestselling book written by a Supreme Court Justice, but I have to imagine it’s a small group—and one of which Kansas City is now a member. The Coterie Theatre has partnered with What if Puppets to premiere a new musical based on the children’s book Just Ask!, written by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor.
Written and directed by Fran Sillau, with music, lyrics, and music direction by Mark Kurtz, Just Ask! centers on a group of young people who come together to clean up an urban plot of land and turn it into a community garden before it’s seized by developers. As the kids clear weeds and plant their seeds—and puzzle over a large and mysterious new plant they’ve discovered)—they also get to know each other and learn about one another’s abilities and disabilities, which range from dyslexia to diabetes to Down syndrome and more. And just as you have to learn all you can about a plant to help it grow to the best of its abilities, we can also learn about and appreciate each others’ differences by asking questions.
This is the lesson we hear repeated as we meet each character: Be curious, ask questions, refrain from judgment. The message is sweet (and the songs that carry it are cute and catchy) but adult audience members may find the delivery cloying. This show is meant for very young audience members—younger than even most shows on the Coterie’s stage. Just Ask! feels like it would work best as a school tour for young elementary students, which may well be where it’s headed after its Kansas City premiere. The youngest audience members in attendance when I visited seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves, although at just over an hour, the show is a bit too long to hold their attention to the very end. Things got pretty squirmy in the last 10 minutes or so.
Still, Just Ask! is likely to win over young audiences. The music, which covers a diverse range of styles, is strong and bolstered by Courtney Stein Cairncross’ simple but lively choreography. The cast, which is comprised of actors who reflect the lived experiences of the characters they portray, is excellent across the board. Like Sotomayor’s book, the musical delivers an empowering message to kids, encouraging them to embrace what makes them unique and to be curious about others’ differences.
“Just Ask!” runs through February 23 at The Coterie Theatre, 2450 Grand Blvd. For more information, visit www.thecoterie.org.
