It would be an understatement to say that 12-year-old Abby is just having a bad day.

		'Colorfast' Where and when: Gateway Middle School, Sunday, 2 p.m.; Pine-Richland High School, Oct. 21, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Moon High School, Oct. 22, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Mt. Lebanon High School, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.; Byham Theater, Oct. 24, 2 p.m.; Byham Theater, Oct. 25, 10:15 a.m. Tickets: $8.50 in advance, $10 day of show; 412-321-5520 or www.pghkids.org.

Her parents are fighting. Her teacher hated her book report. And her best friend is angry with her. To make matters worse, there are mounds of dirty clothes in her room, so she has nothing clean to wear to the school dance.

In the world of an angst-filled preteen, any one of those events is fodder for drama. But combine them with a clever script, giant puppets and a delightful score and you get "Colorfast," a musical theater adventure about growing up, coping with problems, taking responsibility and learning to apologize.

"There are plenty of things that parents will relate to as well as children," says writer/director Kellee Van Aken.

The world premiere of "Colorfast" will held here Oct. 17-24 at several venues including the Byham Theater. Its debut is part of the Pittsburgh International Children's Theater calendar, which includes performances from artists from around the world over the next several months.

The musical, nearly two years in the making, combines the talents of Van Aken, puppet sculptor Cheryl Capezzuti and composer Douglas Levine, all of whom live in Pittsburgh. The threesome has created the fantasy world of Lintville, home to Dina Clean, a genie sent to help Abby.

But when Abby fails to heed Dina's laundry advice and washes all her dirty clothes in hot water, she turns her laundry pink. Abby then has to travel through the dryer door to Lintville in search of her magic helper. Along the way, she encounters various characters including talking laundry, animated appliances and giant puppets made of lint.

"It's really about her growing-up journey and her learning to take responsibility for her own actions," Capezzuti says.

The show has been tested with audiences at workshops held at the Duds 'N Suds Laundromat in East Liberty.

"We kept growing it and growing it," Van Aken said. "Finally we said, 'It's too big for a 10-foot space between the large screen television and a line of washers. We need a theater.' "

The concept for the show began as an idea four years ago when Van Aken met Capezzuti, a puppet sculptor who was then involved in a project at City Theatre. Capezzuti was also making a name for herself by collecting dryer lint from people around the world and sculpting it into fanciful figures.

"Kellee said, 'If you're ever interested in exploring theater, I'd be interested in writing [a show],'" Capezzuti said.

The two began collaborating and eventually their short skits for the lint puppets began to evolve into a broader project. It was natural for Van Aken to call on Levine, whom she had collaborated with in the past.

"It was such a wacky little concept," Van Aken said. "It's not every day you get to write for singing laundry."

For Levine, that was part of the appeal.

"It sounded wacky, but it also sounded unique," Levine said. "I was able to say at the first meeting, this hasn't ever been done before."

What was most appealing about the project, Levine said, is that although the show is written for a pre-teen audience, it's not child-like.

"We decided early on we weren't going to write down to kids, musically, lyrically or otherwise," Levine said, noting that the music combines various styles including jazz and funk. "We wrote the material we wanted to write. That's how you keep the interest of kids and educate them as well."