The most remarkable aspect of the children's theater production of "The Wind in the Willows," directed by Ron Bright at Paliku Theatre, is its clarity. Performances are not only charming, but also carry to the back row — a product of both careful articulation on the part of the cast and subtle amplification from the sound designer.

The ability to "speak the speech" can be too often slighted or completely ignored, but when the words ring out with precision and understanding — as they do in this production- they deserve extra appreciation.

That same careful consideration applies to the script and the performances.

Michael Hulett's adaptation of the classic children's book by Kenneth Grahame reduces the number of characters and condenses the action, adding several pleasant songs that are performed live against recorded accompaniment. There are also opportunities for participation when the audience is invited to contribute forest sounds and to whistle up help when Toad gets into trouble.

The cast adds good definition to the humanized animal characters, starting with Kim Anderson's delightful Mole. She sings excellently and gives innocent enthusiasm to the character — explaining that she compensates for poor eyesight with an extraordinary sense of smell and hearing. She's a shy and loyal friend, but clearly proud of her three toes — neatly supplied by costumer Evette Allerdings.

She's joined by Miko McDonnell's Ratty, an even-tempered fellow, and together they enjoy exploring the riverbank and consider boating. The trio is completed by Jocelyn Ishihara as Badger, a cranky authoritarian who is first to lay down the rules of behavior.

In this, the three friends are challenged by Sky Okimoto's irrepressible Toad, a wealthy aristocrat whose gadfly enthusiasms always end up causing trouble. His current craze is to enjoy the "open road," leading to a series of scrapes, a jail term and a bold escape.

Okimoto keeps the character innocently enthusiastic — balancing out his self-centeredness and lack of good judgment — until he is rescued by his friends and makes a short-lived promise to reform his extravagant ways.

Set designer Lloyd Riford creates the visual effects that supply the action sequences, including a horse-drawn cart, a motor car and a steam engine. There's also a gigantic judge's bench and a two-story facade of the country manor Toad Hall.

Rounding out the cast are Amy Oshiro as the Judge, Karen Bauder as the Washerwoman and Garett Taketa in a number of roles including a Horse and a weaselly Thief.

With its broad characters, participation and big fight scene, "Wind in the Willows" should be a success with a children's audience.