‘Right Self ‘: Easing Childhood Anxiety

Have a problem with your self-image? Does everyone else have the answers and you’re out in the cold? Don’t worry, there’s comfort at hand.

“The Right Self,” South Coast Repertory’s 1992 Educational Touring Production, directed by John-David Keller and playing Saturday on the theater’s main stage, contains a theme common in children’s theater: self-esteem.

A snappy restaging of writer-lyricist Jerry Patch’s comic 1985 musical for younger school-age children, with music by Diane King Vann, the show offers humorous understanding and common sense to ease a growing kid’s everyday anxieties.

At Camp I Wanna Persona, three insecure young people are targeted for a lesson in life: nerdy Will (Craig George) who wants friends, jock Rocky (Felipe Galvez) who secretly fears failure and Karen (Myrona DeLaney) who feels she can’t do anything right.

With the help of a mysterious camp counselor (Laurie Woolerly), who changes into Miss Ann Thrope, every kid camper’s nightmare, and mildly satiric fantasy sequences including Karen’s “Wet My Lips National Rock Tour,” Rocky’s encounter with someone bigger and meaner than he is and Will’s outer-space adventure, the trio learn self-respect.

There’s nothing heavyweight here, but all the elements of the play work smoothly together, from the professional staging and adult cast to the upbeat music and clever lyrics, Linda Kostalik’s choreography and Dwight Richard Odle’s clever portable set, constructed like a pop-up storybook.

The show ordinarily tours Los Angeles and Orange County schools, but, in addition to Saturday’s production, an abbreviated version will be open to the public at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on May 2 as part of the Imagination Celebration.

“The Right Self,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, Saturday at 11 a.m., $5; (714) 957-4033. Running time: 45 minutes.

Tell Me a Story: Two just-released videos from Rabbit Ears’ award-winning “We All Have Tales” series are worthy additions to any family video library.

Eric Metaxas’ “The Monkey People,” a quirky South American fable about lazy villagers and more than a barrelful of monkeys, is delightfully complemented by Raul Julia’s warm narration, given a happy, skipping beat by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour and entrances the eye with Diana Bryan’s fantastic silhouette drawings.

In the classic French fairy tale “Puss in Boots,” Pierre Le-Tan’s drawings are too muted and static to be enlivened by the limited, cross-dissolve animation that characterizes the series, but jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty’s score has a whimsical touch and Tracey Ullman’s Gallic-flavored narrative style is downright hilarious.

Rabbit Ears/Uni Distribution. 30 minutes. Children 5 and older. $9.95. Widely available.