'White House Pets': A Well-Timed Tale

The Kennedy Center raises its curtain tonight on a story that seems familiar: A girl whose father has just become president tries to get used to life at the White House and turns to a beloved pet for comfort and companionship.

Wait, you say: Malia and Sasha Obama have not yet gotten the puppy they were promised during the campaign. True enough, and, strictly speaking, "Unleashed! The Secret Lives of White House Pets" isn't about the Obama girls and their pet-to-be. But with young children in the White House for the first time in a generation, the play (in the works before Obama was a front-runner for the White House) is nothing if not well timed.

"It makes me feel like it was all meant to happen," said Allyson Currin, who was commissioned to write the play, her first geared toward children, two years ago.

"Unleashed!" is a collaboration between the Kennedy Center and the White House Historical Association, which provided information about presidents and their animal pals. The play travels back through time and tends to focus on the more unusual pets -- including a cow, two goats, a snake and an alligator.

Some animals, played by actors, resemble the presidents who owned them -- FDR's dog Fala, for example, sits in a wheelchair. The pets talk to fictional first daughter Alastair, 11, and Tipp, her Chihuahua, about how to survive the tumult of the White House.

At its heart, the play is about friendship and how pets can warm a rather cold and lonely existence, with plenty of White House history thrown in. Characters include White House kids Alice Roosevelt and Thomas "Tad" Lincoln, who confides that with the Civil War raging, he often has no one to play with save his two pet goats.

"Alastair and Tipp are so worried at the beginning of the play about what they are going to face in the White House. They learn that what got the other characters through were their friends," Currin said. "I wanted the play to reassure not just the Obama kids, but all kids. . . . As long as you've got somebody's hand to hang on to, you'll get through the times that you might fear as tough or challenging."

Alastair is played by Jessica Frances Dukes, and Tipp the Chihuahua is played by Matthew McGloin. The play is directed by Nick Olcott, whose previous productions for the Kennedy Center include Judith Viorst's "Alexander" plays, Katie Couric's "The Brand New Kid" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."

The play is recommended for age 7 and older -- perfect for Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10. No word on whether they have tickets.

"Unleashed! The Secret Lives of White House Pets" Through Feb. 22 at the Family Theater, Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW (Metro: Foggy Bottom-GWU, with free shuttles). Tickets: $18; 202-467-4600 or http://www.kennedy-center.org.