"Mom, I'm bored. There's nuthin' to do."

For every parent who has heard this - and every child who has uttered these nerve-curdling words - there's Milo, the ennui-riddled young hero of "The Phantom Tollbooth." The cherished 1961 children's book by Norton Juster (with illustrations by Jules Feiffer) has been adapted dandily into an hour-long family musical premiering at the Kennedy Center.

Sheldon Harnick (who, among other things, wrote a little something called "Fiddler on the Roof," not to mention the musical "She Loves Me") deftly captures the delightful wordplay and Marx Brothersesque puns from Mr. Juster's book in the musical's lyrics. Arnold Black sets them to music in a score that is melodic and kid-simple but doesn't pander. The play is directed by Tim McDonald.

"The Phantom Tollbooth" takes audiences on a rhyming minitour of the American musical, from plaintive ballads and comic patter songs to production numbers and the requisite 11 o'clock show-stopper. An outstanding cast of six (Katie Babb, Kurt Boehm, Cyana Cook, James Gardiner, L.C. Harden Jr., Phil Olejack and Lauren Williams) assumes multiple guises and manages to make the stage seem densely and merrily populated.

The musical centers on Milo (Mr. Boehm), a small boy fidgety with tedium. Nothing strikes his fancy - not even hanging out with his friends. Flopping on his bed, Milo dozes off, and suddenly a strange toy tollbooth appears where his bureau used to be. A stentorian voice urges him to embark on a quest for adventure. Accompanied by his tenacious and nervy canine companion, Tock (Miss Williams), Milo jumps into a little red car (one of the most adorable touches in James Kronzer's fanciful stranger-in-a-strange-land set) and sets off for his destination - the Castle in the Air.

Along the way, Milo encounters the fussing and feuding brothers the King of Dictionopolis (Mr. Harden) and the King of Digitopolis (Mr. Gardiner), who argue over the supremacy of words versus numbers; the serene princesses of Rhyme and Reason (Miss Babb and Miss Cook); and the dastardly Demons (Mr. Olejack, Mr. Harden and Miss Babb), who sap people of their motivation and sincerity.

By the end, Milo has learned the virtue of keeping busy and the importance of having a mission - a deed he accomplishes with a dictionary and a No. 2 pencil.

An inventive fantasy, "The Phantom Tollbooth" appeals to lovers of English idioms and nifty banter, and the musical replicates the book's ingeniousness in staging that features shadow puppets, percussive choreography by Karma Camp that recalls that of the musical "Stomp" and an "Alice in Wonderland"-type series of absurdist encounters. At one point, when Milo enters Dictionopolis, vendors are hawking brightly colored "nouns for sale, get your proper nouns" in wheelbarrows and display cases, while verbs, adverbs and pronouns are presented like the ethnic character dances from "The Nutcracker."
Milo may be bored to tears initially, but both the musical and the book versions of "The Phantom Tollbooth" entertainingly show how a love of language and learning can give life renewed purpose and meaning.

WHAT: "The Phantom Tollbooth," based on the children's book by Norton Juster. Music by Arnold Black and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Directed by Tim McDonald

WHERE: Kennedy Center Family Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

WHEN: 4 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow; 1:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30; 11 a.m., 1:30 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1; 1:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8; 1:30 and 4 p.m. Dec. 9; 1:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15; 1:30 and 4 p.m. Dec. 16.

TICKETS: $18
PHONE: 202/467-4600
WEB SITE: www.kennedy-center.org
MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS