ROCKLAND — An interactive theatre production of Beautiful Blackbird will be presented by the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine On Tour on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., at the Rockport Opera House, 6 Central St. in Rockport.

The show has a running time of 30 minutes and is appropriate for ages 1-5. Sliding scale tickets are $0-20. 

Long ago, Blackbird was voted the most beautiful bird in the forest. The other birds – red, yellow, blue, and green – admired Blackbird and begged Blackbird to paint their feathers with a touch of black so they could be beautiful, too! Ashley Bryan’s adaptation of a tale from the Ila-speaking people of Zambia resonates both with rhythm and the tale’s universal meanings—appreciating one’s heritage and discovering the beauty within.

"Shake your tail feathers along with Ringdove, Pink, and Blackbird in this special production for the very young," said Strand Theatre, in a news release.

Blackbird is played by Veeva Banga, Pink is played by Lys Pearl-Ross, and Ringdove is played by Margaret Brownlee.

The Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine was created through a 2008 merger of two children’s organizations–both of them with deep roots in Portland and both founded by the Junior League of Portland. The Museum & Theatre includes the oldest continuously operating children’s theater in the nation, originally founded as the Children’s Theatre of Maine in 1923 and now named Maddy’s Theatre. Over eighty years later, in 2008, the theater merged with the Children’s Museum of Maine (which was founded in 1976). For the past century, the staff of the Museum & Theatre have designed and delivered multidisciplinary and experiential learning experiences for toddlers through teens, with their families.

The production is presented in partnership with the Beautiful Blackbird Children’s Book Festival, produced by Indigo Arts Alliance to celebrate Black and Black Immigrant children’s books and their creators. 

This show is made possible thanks to support from Strand sponsors Rockland Harbor Hotel and OUT Maine.

Capacity for each show is 60. As part of the Strand’s Family Series, sliding scale tickets are offered at $0-20. To buy tickets, or for more information, visit www.rocklandstrand.com or call (207) 594-0070.  The Strand Theatre is located at 345 Main Street, Rockland.