CORVALLIS - At the heart of the all-ages musical "Frogtown" is a saxophone playing tadpole named Tad who goes searching for good music and ultimately acceptance in his watery world.

Based on the book and CD "One Night In Frogtown" by Phillip Pelletier, the production includes jazz, R&B, classical - and, of course, hip-hop - while pondering the importance of diversity and of finding your own voice through high-energy musical numbers, sing-along animations and storytelling.

Pelletier signed on a cast of well-known Portland musicians and tailored the music and lyrics to their personal styles.

It wasn't hard to convince professional musicians to join a chorus of frogs, according to Pelletier.

"They were so down with it, it took like 10 seconds," he said. " A lot of them were really into doing a cool kids project. There's not enough of it."

The show's traveling all-stars include Andy Stokes, Shannon Day, Devin Phillips, Heather Christie and Fogatron. They will perform at

3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at LaSells Stewart Center, at Oregon State University.

Pre-show children's activities will be held in the lobby starting at 2 p.m.

Pelletier's resume includes work on animation projects with big-name studios such as Disney and Pixar. He has won numerous awards, including Best Director at the Los Angeles International Film Festival and Grand Prize at The New York Funny Shorts Fest, and he has an Emmy Award for a children's educational television show that he collaborated on with Sinbad for ABC in the mid-'90s.

As a kid growing up in New York City, Pelletier was fascinated with biology and frogs in particular. Over the years, he collected hours of field recordings of frogs using a portable digital recorder, which he later organized and put to use as an array of instrumental sounds in "Frogtown."

Pelletier moved to Portland in 2001, after more than 10 years working in Los Angeles, and just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks rocked the nation.

Looking back at what motivated him to write a children's book about diversity and inclusiveness, Pelletier notes that day as well as living through the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

The book has racked up numerous honors since it was published in the fall of last year, including nominations for a 2008 Oregon Book Award, The Grammy Awards "Education Watch" and a 2009 Gold IPPY Award (an honor for best in independent publishing).

Both the story and the musical are accompanied by the striking illustrations of Portland artist Verne Lindner. And the CD version that is included with the book is narrated by Curtis Salgado and includes vocals by Linda Hornbuckle, part of an extended group of all-stars that often joins in Portland-area shows.

"The show is an evolving wonderful thing," Pelletier said. The project has already spawned numerous side projects including a "Bedtime for Tadpoles" CD and an upcoming "Learn to Read with Frogtown" DVD.

Saturday's performance is a fundraiser for the Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children (www.oregonaeyc.org), which is presenting the event along with the LaSells Stewart Center. Other sponsors include Hilton Garden Inn and KRKT.

Proceeds from books sold at the event go to Frogtown's Diversity Through Music Program. Information: www.frogtowncentral.com.