Eleven different personalities join the cast to sing and dance and entertain in ArtsWest's family musical Just So and they are captivating, rambunctious, and tremendously insightful in the re-telling of the charming, funny Kipling Just So Stories.

And they never really say a word.

The 11 synthetic actors take the form of intricate, stylish puppets, and, combined with six living actors, promise to entertain the whole family in Just So, a musical by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (authors of HONK! and Mary Poppins) and based on Rudyard Kipling's The Just So Stories for Little Children. Just So will run May 18 through June 10 at ArtsWest Playhouse.

The stories tell of members of the animal kingdom, curious to learn about their own physical characteristics and personality traits. Kipling's fables, learned as a child at the feet of his Indian "ayas," (nursemaids) answer such questions as "How did the elephant get its trunk" or "Why does the zebra have stripes?" The animals ask elemental questions similar to ones that young children often ask. And Kipling, unlike a lot of parents, had some fun answers ready in response to such brainteasers.

Designed and built by Christy Penney using found materials such as chicken wire, foam, glass, string, PVC pipe, elastic, feathers, fabric and gloves, the puppets all have distinct personalities representing animals in the stories. But the single most important component of these puppets comes from the audience in the form of the imagination they bring with them to the theater.

"This is a story about change, about growing up and about challenging your fears in that process," said Christopher Zinovitch, theater and theater education director at ArtsWest and director of Just So. "It's a story that can relate to children and parents alike and when you add in the puppets to represent the animal personalities, the end result is pretty magical."

Just So is a musical and when it comes to the singing, of course, it's all up to the actors. "We have a very strong group of performers," said musical director Sulo Turner. "They are an accomplished group of singers who blend beautifully."

The cast includes Matt Lee, Michelle Lorenz-Odell, Kristen Marken, Sean O'Bannon, Micah Packard, and Christa West who perform accompanied by R.J. Tancuro on piano.

Just So: Written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Directed by Christopher Zinovitch. Musical direction by Sulo Turner. May 18 to June 10 at ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W. Tickets: $10 to $15 at the box office 938-0339 or online at www.artswest.org. Performances: Opening Night 7:30 p.m. Thursday May 18; Fridays and Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; and May 21, 27, 28, June 3, June 4, and June 10 at 3 p.m.