Rocker Takes On Child-Size Issues

You do

No, I don’t

Yes, I think that you have the flu

I don’t have . . . Achoo!

--”Rock ‘n Together,” a new album by Craig ‘n Co. on Walt Disney Records

Walt Disney Records, which last year added the Valley-based Parachute Express trio to its ever-growing roster of children’s recording artists, has snapped up another local talent: Craig Taubman, the kid-friendly rock ‘n’ roller whose dynamic performance style has made him a Southland favorite with both parents and children.

Along with the reissue of his “Morning ‘n Night” album, Disney has released Taubman’s first original production for the label, “Rock ‘n Together,” a lighthearted mix of hip-hop, swing and rock songs about kid-sized issues, from a dreaded haircut to having the flu.

Taubman, along with his Craig ‘n Co. band, will perform songs from the album today at an outdoor 11 a.m. concert at Pages Book Store in Tarzana.

His career upturn has the 33-year-old entertainer riding high.

“We did a video of the song ‘Haircut,’ ” Taubman said, with unabashed glee. “It’s airing now on the Disney Channel. Can you believe I’m talking about this? It’s really cool. Isn’t this cool?”

Taubman, the father of two preschoolers, said the new album is meant to be fun, “not preachy,” because his audience “doesn’t want to be hit over the head with a message. They want to find the message on their own level.

“Most of the themes from the album are things that I’ve gone through directly with my kids,” he said. “ ‘The Flu’ is an experience I had with my daughter Abby when her birthday was canceled because she was sick.”

The slick, sophisticated sound performed by Taubman and his band--Mike Turner, Troy Dexter, Joel Bennett and Robert Aguilar--is “geared primarily to 6- to 8-year-olds,” Taubman said.

With his higher profile in an increasingly competitive field, Taubman’s outlook is positive. “Some people have been critical that the major labels are going to destroy the market. I think the competition is healthy and will make for better music and greater creative expression.”

Craig ‘n Co., Pages, 18399 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, today, 11 a.m. Free; (818) 34-BOOKS.

Hello, Columbus: Both the Mark Taper Forum’s Improvisational Theatre Project (ITP) and South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players have taken oblique note of the Columbus quincentenary with two theater works for children celebrating North American Indian culture.

The Project’s educational touring production, “According to Coyote,” about the wily trickster of American Indian mythology, interweaves earthy humor and mysticism in several Creation tales.

Written by John Kauffman, a playwright of Nez Perce ancestry, and directed by Peter Brosius, the production has the technical superiority and the respect for its subject expected of ITP shows.

Set designer Victoria Petrovich’s canted circular platform and rough-hewn ladders, light designer Michael Gilliam’s clear wash of color and Csilla Marki’s stylized costumes intrigue the eye; sound and music by Trinidad Krystall, Marty Krystall and John Fitzgerald add both emphasis and delicacy, as does Gary Mascaro’s clever choreography.

But adult professionals Katrina Alexy, Wolfe Bowart, Peter Kors and Michele Mais lack rhythm as an ensemble; a recent performance at Barnsdall’s Gallery Theatre in Hollywood was weighed down with rough-edged scene transitions and overly loud dialogue that blurred nuances, giving the show a work-in-progress feel.

“Windigo,” presented by South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, centers on the once-upon-a-time trials of a young Ojibway tribe member who must fight what he fears the most to determine his life’s path.

Here too, production values are superior and the execution is respectful. Repertory set designer Dwight Richard Odle has created a welcoming, circular environmental space, with several painted paths radiating like the spokes of a wheel from a central smoking “fire.” According to the program, the space was blessed by a Native American consultant, who also gave the company permission to present the production.

Rhonda Winger-Earick’s beaded, feathered and fringed costumes are sumptuous; Donna Ruzika’s light design adds mystery. But the earnest teen cast, directed by Diane Doyle, is non-pro and that shows in overly emphatic line readings and inadvertent “mall” accents; adult actors David Kinwald and Andrea Serrato-Montoya also seem rooted in the 20th Century. Still, the cast gives its all, hitting its marks and even pulling off a well-staged fight scene.

“According to Coyote,” Plaza de la Raza, 3540 N. Mission Road, today, 11:30 a.m., $1; Alpine Recreation Center, 817 Yale Ave., next Saturday 2 p.m., free. Call for April schedule. (213) 972-7392. Running time: less than 1 hour.

“The Windigo,” Orange County Performing Arts Center, Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, today, 4 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 4 p.m. Ends Sun. $8-$10; (714) 957-4033. Running time: 1 hour.