Saturday morning cartoon-watching children of the 1970s and 1980s are familiar with the educational classic, “Schoolhouse Rock,” which would air between cartoons. And now, Mad Duckling Theatre is bringing the tradition back to the current generation of youngsters.
“Schoolhouse Rock Live” sets the scene with a young teacher on the morning of her first day of school. Her imagination is personified into five parts of her personality — romantic, goofy, sweet, cool and mature — which emerge to give her some pointers to make it through the day.
“Schoolhouse Rock Live” is the second of two interactive musical comedies aimed at children and families to be performed this summer by the University’s Mad Duckling Theatre. The show opened Tuesday and will continue through Saturday, and then play again August 1-5. Shows take place at the amphitheater outside Robinson Theatre.
The performance is created in a manner most appealing to children, complete with singing, dancing and audience interaction. The play is not only fun to watch, it’s fun to perform, actor Lindy Anderson said.
“There is always something going on — dancing, singing, a lot of eye candy,” she said. Besides the “eye candy,” the play teaches basic elements of grammar and arithmetic.
The catchy musical– based on the “Schoolhouse Rock” animated shorts broadcast on ABC from 1973 to 1985 — was written by the original cast members of the Emmy Award-winning series.
“We wanted something high energy. This has a great revival going on right now, but it also has a cool retro feel,” said Deborah Greer, the second-year theater arts doctoral degree student who is directing the performance.
The actors aren’t just good, they’re magnetic. They are so skilled at drawing in the audience, be it children or adults, with personal interaction and a minimum of simple props. Those performance tools add the perfect touch to the jaunty musical routines.

“They have been amazing. They’re truly the definition of a theater company,” Greer said, complementing the cast, which also put on “My Emperor’s New Clothes” earlier this summer. “Every person who worked on this is so dedicated and that’s the only way we could pull this off.”
The singing, when concentrating on more than just the catchy words and choreographed moves, was also very good. Not an easy feat when singing and dancing song after song — ranging from “Grease”-style to barbershop — with no break. And all loud enough to be heard by a lawn full of children and parents in an outdoor theater.
Actor Jon Sharpy said that the amount of singing in this performance increased compared to that of “Emperor.”
“This works really well with the people we have,” he said. “We’re all musical people and it’s just fun.”
Mad Duckling’s musical director, Curtis Williams, professionally mixed and recorded a one-man band soundtrack, comprised of saxophone, drums, keyboard and other instruments, to back up the show.
The most amazing quality of the performance was the timelessness of the production. Adults sat just as open-mouthed and attentive as their children, total attention consumed, clapping at the conclusion of each act with a child-like joy that only revisiting good memories can bring about.
“The wonderful part of this production is that it appeals to so many ages,” Greer said. ” It’s not only fun for all ages, but highly educational, too.”
The Mad Duckling Summer Theatre, which puts on two children’s theater productions each summer, is sponsored through the support of the University Summer Session office. For information, visit the Mad Duckling Theatre online at http://play.at/duckling.