‘Elephant and Piggie’ will return courtesy of Kid’s Day

Children are the future — so we adults might as well start kissing up now.

On Saturday, Fuse Productions and The State Theatre are teaming up to present “Kid’s Day,” an entire morning and afternoon’s worth of sweet parental relief ... err, fun and games ... for the cost of a $9 ticket.

All of it will be bookended by two encore performances of “Elephant and Piggie’s ‘We are in a Play,’” Fuse Productions’ well-received take on the work of author Mo Willems, who adapted his own popular children’s series for the stage.

Young fans flocked to the show last May, a fact that was not lost on Greg Ray, The State Theatre’s executive director.

“When you get out the folding chairs, that’s when you know you have a hit,” Ray said.

Showbiz bylaws dictate that a hit always comes back, but this time Ray — and Richard Biever, Fuse Productions’ producing artistic director — wanted to make the most of their youthful audience’s trip downtown.

In addition to Nittany Balloons under the marquee and the MindBody Art School of Dance taking up residence in the theater’s attic, local puppeteer Adam Swartz and his creations will also get their moment in the sun.

“We felt like it would be an opportunity to introduce people to other great children’s performers,” Biever said.

Of course the list wouldn’t be complete without an “Elephant and Piggie” read-along with the staff from Schlow Centre Region Library.

Ray attributes the success of the play to the respect that Willems’ original stories had for their audience.

“The play treats children as equals in storytelling, which is rare,” Ray said

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 10:42 AM with the headline "‘Elephant and Piggie’ will return courtesy of Kid’s Day."