Portland Ovations will present “Beautiful Blackbird Live!” at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center on Nov. 23. Photo by Greg Mooney

In 2017, the Alliance Theatre in Georgia developed a play for young audiences based on Maine author Ashley Bryan’s joyful children’s book “Beautiful Blackbird.” Atlanta native Eugene H Russell IV composed original music that was performed by a band of birds in the show. Then the theater started getting requests: “Can we book the Blackbird band to play our event?” Audiences assumed this lively band was a real one, so the Alliance Theatre decided to develop a concert experience in 2021.

This month, fans of all ages can see both the play and the music it inspired on stages in Maine. Christopher Moses, artistic director, and Olivia Aston Bosworth, director of youth and families, from Alliance Theatre answered five questions about this latest adaptation of Bryan’s work. This interview has been edited for length.

You said the Alliance Theatre has a commitment to produce work for the youngest audiences. Why is that important to you?

Moses: I think the experience of theater is essential on the development of a human being, and we just thought that this should be a birthright for every kid in our community. We were keenly aware of the benefits of these experiences and, in fact, did a bunch of research because I think there are still skeptics who wonder, “Why is theater important? Why is it important for a 4-year-old to see a performance?” So we wanted to get the hard data behind it, and we did a long multi-year experimental study, and a couple points stuck out. Like a young person who’s experiencing these stories shows a greater level of tolerance and a greater sense of hope in their own future. So those two things made it clear. If we know this now, we must figure out a way to do more of it, and we want to make sure that every possible age group has access to this work that is designed with their cognitive abilities in mind.

What about Ashley Bryan’s work inspired you?

Moses: We are at the Woodruff Arts Center, and we’re part of a campus that houses the symphony orchestra and a visual art museum and the Alliance Theatre. We got together, gosh, eight years ago and thought, “What are we uniquely prepared to do if we link arms and collaborated on a project?” And we thought about children’s picture book art, which is a child’s first experience with art, and we thought, “What if we treated that with the same gravity we do any of our other works?” The High Museum started exhibiting picture book artists’ work, and at the same time, we would create plays inspired by that artist’s work. So it became a citywide celebration of a particular artists. We were going down the list of who we wanted to celebrate, and Ashley was near the top. Once I dove into his catalogue, I just felt like, here was an artist who so clearly respected young people, and it was so clear that he took his inspiration from young people. I had the privilege of flying to Little Cranberry and getting to tour his house and studio and just seeing he kept all those pictures that kids would draw when he would meet with groups.

Alliance Theatre in Georgia has developed “Beautiful Blackbird” as both a play and a concert experience. Photo by Greg Mooney

What did you find compelling about “Beautiful Blackbird” specifically?

Moses: It was a combination of the illustrations and the message of the book. There was something first and foremost just captivating about the world and the look of these birds that Ashley captured, and then this idea of Black being beautiful and the most beautiful color of all was a message that we thought would really resonate with our audiences and families here in Atlanta. What immediately grabbed our attention was the musicality of the work. We knew it was rooted in this African folktale, and it had this very ’70s sensibility, and we wanted to figure out musically what that could be.

What is the difference between “Beautiful Blackbird: The Play” and “Beautiful Blackbird Live!” the concert?

Aston Bosworth: At its core, the play is an interactive narrative with music, and the concert is a jazz funk rock show. So there’s a real distinction in the audience experience. With the play, it’s really for 2- to 5-year olds. And they’re interacting with the actors playing all of the various birds. They’re getting up from their seats, and they have props. So it is theater for the very young work that we do here. There is no fourth wall. With the band, you’re really learning how to be at a rock show. It’s epic, and that feels very special. …

What the concert versus the play really gives us is that you can reach more kids than an interactive, up-close, intimate theater experience. We were touring it to local spots, but to get this call from Portland to to be talking with this team at Portland Ovations just feels like the right next step for this show. A national tour of these birds is like a dream, and we’re going to be working on that.

How would you describe the inspiration for the music and the sound of “Beautiful Blackbird?”

Moses: One thing from the beginning that Eugene hit on was the fact that it was rooted in this African story, that we wanted to highlight the djembe. It’s not a drum kit. I think that is a really unique distinction. You have this bass guitar and guitar, amplified instruments, with a djembe really holding down the beat and really featuring that drum as a primary instrument. There’s a jazz sensibility, which is really in line with a lot of Ashley’s work.

I think there’s this tendency to think you have to dumb down the work for young audiences, and Ashley never did that. It was always as sophisticated as the kids he wanted to reach, and Eugene’s music absolutely did that. It is infectious and draws from jazz and African traditions and definitely ’70s funk. I think that was true to the “Black is beautiful” message that was embedded in the book.

The djembe is important to the sound of “Beautiful Blackbird Live!” Photo by Greg Mooney

BEAUTIFUL BLACKBIRD CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL

Indigo Arts Alliance founded the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival in 2020 in partnership with I’m Your Neighbor Books and Diverse BookFinder. This year’s program is the fifth annual and continues through Nov. 23. You can still catch these events, including shows of “Beautiful Blackbird Live!”

Kende! Kende! Kende! African Community Celebration and Book Fair

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, East End Community Room, 195 North St., Portland, free.

This free event will include a 100-book giveaway of “Kende! Kende! Kende!” and a book signing by co-authors Yaya Gentille and Kirsten Cappy. The story will be read aloud in Arabic, English, French, Kinyarwanda, Lingala, Portuguese and Swahili. The event will also include a wintry photo book, giant puzzle, food and other entertainment. For more information, visit beautifulblackbird.com.

“Beautiful Blackbird: The Play”

11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 16, Rockport Opera House, 36 Central St., Rockport, $0 to $20 admission on a sliding scale.

The Strand Theatre and Rockport Opera House present “Beautiful Blackbird: The Play,” an interactive theater experience by Maddy’s Theatre of the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. This show is for the very young (up to age 5) and was first produced by the Alliance Theatre. For tickets or more information, visit rocklandstrand.com.

“Beautiful Blackbird Live!”

11 a.m. Nov. 23, Westbrook Performing Arts Center, 471 Stroudwater St., Westbrook, $20.

Portland Ovations will present school-time and weekend shows of “Beautiful BlackBird Live!” created by Georgia’s Alliance Theatre. This joyful concert brings Ashley Bryan’s book to life with funk and soul music. For details and tickets, visit portlandovations.org or call the PortTix box office at 207-842-0800.

Beautiful Blackbird! Interactive Exhibit

Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine, 250 Thompson’s Point Road, Portland

This exhibit is an ongoing interactive installation inspired by the beloved picture book. Visitors can dance with bird friends on a giant projection screen, make art, see artwork by Black illustrators and hear a recording of Bryan reading the book. For more information, including hours of operation and admission prices, visit kitetails.org or call the museum at 207-828-1234.