Charleston Gaillard Center Presents The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour

Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie: Starring Indigo Blume

No upcoming perfomances found for this event.

Find your voice in this feathery adventure.

Adapted from the books by Kwame Alexander

By Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

Music by Randy Preston

Directed by Lili-Anne Brown

Music Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations by Mark G. Meadows

New York Times best-selling author KWAME ALEXANDER brings two of his beloved children’s books—Acoustic Rooster and Indigo Blume—to the stage in a world premiere Kennedy Center commission. Alexander teams up with his writing partner MARY RAND HESS and long-time musical collaborator RANDY PRESTON to tell a story about being scared, being brave, and believing in yourself. With special guests like Duck Ellington and Ms. Dairy Parton—this musical adaptation will have children (and families) dancing in their seats.

Dive into a book to keep the fun going: Kwame’s NEW picture book of the same name is based on our musical!

Runtime: 60 minutes, no intermission


Please note: This performance contains haze effects.
Everyone must have a ticket regardless of age.

Photo credit Jati Lindsay

The Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour is represented by Shaw Entertainment Group, LLC.


Pre-Show Barnyard Yoga
12:00PM – 12:30PM
Ballroom I

Bring your little Valentine!

Calling all Acoustic Rooster fans that are ready for some barnyard yoga! Families, friends, and children of all ages, please join us for an afternoon of fun. With the purchase of your Acoustic Rooster Barnyard Boogie tickets, bring your family early for Barnyard Yoga with Lauren Danner. (Everyone must have a ticket regardless of age.)

Come flex your silly muscles and your courage muscles in Barnyard Yoga! Time on the farm is always fun. Intentional play and movement are exciting when we take shapes of animals, explore traditional yoga poses, and weave in some barnyard stories. Yoga practice can help all ages practice skills and tools to feel calmer, happier, develop proprioception, and improve motor skills as well as concentration.

About Yoga Instructor, Lauren Danner
Lauren was born creative and anxious with a wildly creative imagination. Movement, play and art stirred her soul and connected her to life in a joyful and vibrant way. She grew older, as humans do, and searched for this kind of connection as a young adult.

Lauren’s yoga journey began in 2000 as a means to enhance her musical theater performance. Little did she know at the time that it would be the antidote to her anxiety and stress. It would also lead her to cultivate the kind of joyful and connected life she thought only existed in fairytales, or childhood.

Through her studio, Sculpted Lotus Yoga, Lauren leads classes and private lessons for all ages. Her family and kids classes focus on connection, building mindfulness and stress reducing techniques while having fun and learning about our amazing bodies and brains.

Lauren’s personal intention is to be humbled by and grateful for all of life’s gifts. She has found yoga as a means to practice the sincerest expressions of gratitude, cultivate enthusiasm for life, and live as an expression of love. Diverse experience is something she has acquired that has led to her unique style and yoga philosophy. Lauren has taught in attics, apartment communities, hotel rooms, parks, conference rooms, yoga studios, performances venues, farms, healthcare facilities and at Nike World Headquarters. She most values the fact that yoga is for anyone and together we can change the world one breath at a time.


Post-show talkback and book signing with Author Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, producer, and a #1 New York Times Bestselling author of 36 books, including Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume and Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. He has written for television and the stage, conducts writing and publishing workshops at schools and conferences, and leads numerous literacy initiatives worldwide. Kwame is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, The Coretta Scott King Author Honor, Three NAACP Image Award Nominations, and the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award. Recently, Alexander brought two of his beloved children’s books to the stage in a world premiere Kennedy Center musical adaptation of Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Boogie: Starring Indigo Blume.


Buxton Books is proud to be the bookseller for this event. Buxton Books, opened in 2016, is an independent bookstore located on King Street in downtown Charleston, SC. With a knowledgeable staff, highly curated book selection, and robust event schedule, we value and uphold the traditions of a neighborhood bookstore while also welcoming the visiting reading community. We specialize in multi-day author weekends with events ranging from bespoke walking tours to culinary events, and are proud to partner with incredible venues throughout Charleston, including the Gaillard Center.

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