THEATER REVIEW- Just So!

“Just So!” is a wonderfully colorful musical about growing up, finding your wings, and always asking why. Based on Rudyard Kipling’s beloved book of animal short stories (one I always meant to read having been almost-inspired by an obscure reference in “Matilda”), it falls on the heels of other musical adaptations, especially Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who (which I thought was “hoot” for the longest time).

The young elephant child, along with the saucy Kolokolo bird, must find and stop the crab Pau Amma (whose off-stage voice most closely resembles “Fat Bastard”). He has grown to such enormous proportions that his underwater movements are flooding the land with sea. The young, talented cast is composed of recent art-school graduates and they are genuine triple-threats; their energy will delight audiences of old ages, though parents with especially young children should be warned that the nearly 90 minute show has no intermissions.