Andrew Elkins Day Performance: Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play!

This year’s Andrew Elkins Day experience had national and hyper-local significance: a professional touring company from the Kennedy Center gave two exclusive performances on the Henson stage for students in Green Trees and Lower and Middle Schools. The show they performed – Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play! – is the creation of Mo Willems ’86, one of Newman’s most original and creative graduates, who once performed on the very same stage.

Newman was fortunate to be selected as the only independent school stop on the Elephant & Piggie! tour, which is traveling the country as a production of the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences. The production features Willems’ iconic characters for young readers, the eponymous Elephant and Piggie. It tells a story – hilarious, manic, and sweet – of two animal friends finding fun and adventure in everyday life. The play delighted the audiences, many of whom recognized several story lines from the Elephant & Piggie books. In between performances, actors from the show conducted workshops with students in Lower and Middle School acting classes.

One of the most successful and influential children’s book authors and illustrators of all time, Mo Willems’ work has appeared on the New York Times’ bestseller list, won Caldecott Honors, and been translated into multiple languages. He is known for his picture books Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, and the Elephant & Piggie series. As he introduced the play to via video, he reminded them that his initial interest in theater was sparked on the Newman stage. He dedicated the performances to the late Kitty Greenberg, who served as Assistant to the Headmaster, Director of Faculty Affairs, and Drama Director at Newman.

Newman is extremely fortunate to have been selected as a stop on the Elephant & Piggie national tour thanks to Dr. Jean Bailey (grandmother of Kai Oyemade ’27), who worked to add Newman to the tour through her relationship with the Kennedy Center. This special performance was made possible through the Andrew Clayton Elkins Memorial Fund for the Creative Arts, which sponsors an arts experience each year in memory of Andrew Elkins, a member of Newman's Class of 2005.