The Honolulu Theatre for Youth neatly solves the problem of making a stage play immediately accessible to toddlers and preschoolers by creating one without words.

"The Sense-Sational Show" is a combination of broad pantomime; nonverbal sounds, whistles, and grunts; and simple, colorful props. It doesn't tell a story, but uses short vignettes to engage the kids by trying out their five senses. And sometimes the facial expression that comes from sniffing a smelly sock can be more eloquent than volumes of spoken dialogue.

HTY credits four creators. Rob Duval and Cynthia See are the two actors in the piece. Amanda Jenkins is the designer and Annie Wood is the director and dramaturg (sort of a behind-the-scenes specialist that helps pull all the pieces together.)

Together, they keep the young audience enthralled for a 45-minute show and a commercial message that is just as interesting as the play itself.

Cynthia See leads off, outfitted like a building custodian and wielding a feather duster over the first couple of rows (sense of touch, get it?) Rob Duval soon joins in, but as more of a slacker who would rather relax with a newspaper and a pet frog. Soon the pair are communicating with "ribbeting" frog noises and upending a trash bag to examine its interesting contents.

You can imagine the smell opportunities that releases.

Both smell and hearing combine in the form of a stink bug that propels itself with sort of an aerospace flatulence gone wild, and there is a ticking clock and a pair of oversized ears that act like stethoscopes. Applied to a child's head, they produce math tables. Applied to the head of a grown-up, they reveal — sadly — emptiness ...

There is lots to stimulate the sense of sight — such as a magnifying glass, flashlights and shadow puppets. And while nobody gets a free sample, taste buds are stimulated by a tasty apple and a sour lemon that turns into delicious lemon pie.

With its abundance of props, the show sometimes suggests creativity on overdrive. Whether they're trapping odors in a trash can, spraying the audience with squeeze-bottle misters or manipulating a red sock-puppet tongue to swallow things into an oversized mouth, the performers project the necessary innocent enthusiasm to register as truth. And kids seem to have a built-in radar to identify a phony sentiment.

And the commercial message? Having worked up a significant thirst, the actors crave a clear glass of water, but when See tries to fill up a series of empty drinking glasses, each turns a seriously unappetizing primary color. This convinces us that uncontrolled pollutants can contaminate the sea and the aquifer, and you wouldn't want your pet turtle or little sister drinking anything like that.

"The Sense-Sational Show" delivers a low-key message in a charming way that the littlest theatergoers will appreciate. It also demonstrates that entertaining is much more effective than preaching.

Moms and dads will like the show, too.