To be accepting of other people, regardless of what one may have heard, or assumed based on appearances, is a timeless message for both children and adults. It's the message behind "Have a Heart, Be a Star," a musical being presented by Skwalking Heads Productions' Acting for Kids class.
Show times are Friday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 21 at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. in the Bachman Community Center theater.
"It's a fun show that's really been thought provoking for these kids," director Colleen Laliberte said of the 15 young actors, ages 6-12. "They've asked very thoughtful questions about why kids act the way they do."
Set in the future in a music classroom at a scientific outpost in outer space, the show begins with an announcement that a new student from Earth will soon be joining the class. Tom, the bossy, "cool" kid in class, leads the other students in picking on the kid from Earth, where they hear all the kids are wimpy and weird. But the earthling, Jeff, ends up making friends when the other kids start getting to know him and realize he's actually really nice, Laliberte said.
The musical includes a song performed in sign language, "Room in this World," which is what prompted Laliberte to collaborate with the writers and direct the show's world premiere back in 1991.
"The message is still as important and powerful today as it was then," she said.
Bachman Community Center is at 2815 Anderson Pike, in Walden. Tickets are $5, which goes toward the cost of renting the space, said Laliberte.