NAIROBI —

Feathery costumes, multi-colored makeup and East African instruments are packed into boxes, ready for shipping as Kenya’s National Theatre prepares to take its popular children’s show “Tinga Tinga Tales” to New York.

The cartoon by multiple BAFTA award-winner Claudia Lloyd and Kenyan singer-songwriter Eric Wainaina features Kenyan children’s fables to explain questions from the animal kingdom, such as why the giraffe’s neck is long and how the chameleon got its colors. The 2016 musical adaption, brought to life by a breakdancing Rastafari tortoise, a soul singing hippopotamus and a jazz savvy elephant, takes musical inspiration from gospel, funk and hiphop — genres rooted in the United States.

“I’m thrilled to be able to give back to an audience that I’ve borrowed so much from,” said Wainaina, who is the show’s composer, music director and also plays the lead character Monkey.

The cartoon, named after a colorful Tanzanian art-style, was first commissioned by Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC. Lloyd said she was excited to bring East African children’s tales, visual arts and music tradition to the US. — Reuters