Mo Willems's 'Knuffle Bunny': Loads of fun dancing and singing for the family

Exuberance is not a quality usually associated with laundromats -- those bleach-scented, lint-encrusted haunts that are the bane of the washing machine-deprived. But more than a little ebullience buoys "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical," the family show now in its world-premiere run at the Kennedy Center. Adapted by writer and illustrator Mo Willems from his beloved children's book, the production spins a suds-related yarn with such wit and sprightliness that you're half-inclined to swing by the nearest coin-operated front loader and feed it all your quarters, just for the fun of it.

Scored by Michael Silversher, with script and lyrics by Willems and clever direction by Rosemary Newcott, "Knuffle Bunny" tells of an overly confident young dad who decides to take his young daughter, Trixie, along for a session at the local laundromat. Her beloved stuffed rabbit is accidentally left behind in the washing machine, and the not-yet-verbal toddler is unable to explain the crisis on the walk home. Catastrophe looms (until the intervention of sharp-eyed Mom).

Waddling around in red overalls, her balance seemingly precarious, her utterances vehement but inchoate, "Sesame Street" performer (and "Avenue Q" veteran) Stephanie D'Abruzzo aces her portrait of tiny Trixie. But the show really belongs to Michael John Casey as the hapless dad -- an endearing, bespectacled nerd who's alternately flustered and pleased with himself.

Erika Rose is the enjoyably arch mom. Supplying further vim are Matthew McGloin and Gia Mora, who sing and wield puppets, including a blue pigeon (a reference to Willems's popular book "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!") and a series of dirty garments that -- in a delightful hallucinatory sequence -- become monsters menacing Dad on his quest to find Knuffle Bunny. The puppets are the work of Kat Conley, who also devised the set, with its frame of glass panels (briefly lit up to resemble a machine's flashing warning lights) surrounding sepia-tinted projections of modern gentrified Brooklyn. (Ryan Wineinger is projection designer.)

The production benefits greatly from Paige Hernandez's droll choreography, which quotes the can-can, incorporates a juggling session and builds a Charleston around a set of Dad's dirty shirts. Silversher's music, which brims with urban energy, provides apt accompaniment.

Parents as harried as Trixie's will be interested to hear that "Knuffle Bunny" clocks in at under an hour -- no longer than it might take to run a dryer on the "normal" setting. And the musical is guaranteed not to produce static cling.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical Script and lyrics by Mo Willems, adapted from his book "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale"; music by Michael Silversher. Directed by Rosemary Newcott; music direction, Jonathan Tuzman; musical arrangement, Deborah Wicks La Puma; costume design, Kate Turner-Walker; lighting design, Jeff Bruckerhoff; sound design, Ryan Gastelum. Through May 23 at the Kennedy Center Family Theater. Call 202-467-4600 or 800-444-1324 or visit http://kennedy-center.org.