Getting away from the constant pressures of college life may be as simple as spending a day in the park. “Park Play,” the first play of the Kitchen Theatre’s Family Fare series, exemplifies the simplicity of a day outdoors.

The play journeys back to the days of childhood — a time when boys and girls had “cooties,” when nap time didn’t mean snoozing between (or during) class and the only worry in the world was finding a playmate on the playground.

“Park Play” tells the story of  9-year-old Hayley (Erin Hilgartner) and the time she spends observing and playing with her friends in the park. Hayley looks every bit like a typical kid — bright-eyed with pigtails and an infectiously adorable smile — but in personality, Hayley is 9 going on 35 and a budding paleontologist. Spending the day in the park not only means flying high on her favorite swing, but also getting to observe the other parkgoers in a series of musical vignettes.

The all-original score is reminiscent of songs heard on childrens’ shows like “Arthur” or “Zoom.” Beneath the sugarcoated surface, the songs may cause adult audiences to compare their lives now with their childhood experiences. “Lovely at the Park” is the only number that gives the audience a glimpse of the parents in the park — which include personas from a nervous, overwrought mother of twins to a set of proud grandparents, — while “The Name Song” addresses the changes in baby-naming trends over the years. Other pieces are sillier and sound like something pulled from a Dr. Seuss book, but the show maintains a balance between fun and potentially poignant.

While the songs are enjoyable, the actors’ performances are the true highlight of this play. The cast ranges from children to college students and adults.

Ithaca College seniors Ace Heckathorn and Melanie Beck and junior Katie Henly are the most fun to watch for the simple reason that they look like they are having fun. Heckathorn is particularly hilarious when he repeatedly wreaks havoc on Beck and Henly’s game of house, but the tables are turned on him when the girls poke fun at him for being noticeably terrified of a potential thunderstorm.

The role reversal, issues of bullying, making friends and growing up are all themes director Rachel Lampert said she wanted to address with the show.

“We didn’t want to get too bogged down in a plot,” Lampert said. “I hope kids will see this and maybe talk to their parents about some of these things, but we weren’t specifically trying to browbeat one specific moral or lesson into their heads.”

Lampert helped write “Park Play” along with Kitchen staff member Lesley Greene, Thomas Peters  ’09 and Ithaca High School student Nathan Hilgartner. Lampert said the goal was to create a piece that people of all ages could enjoy — not just children.

For some, this bubbly kiddie musical may be too over the top, but for anyone who is willing to take a trip back to the simpler days of childhood, “Park Play” is a fun, lighthearted way to spend an hour on a weekend afternoon.

“Park Play” runs through Sunday. Tickets can be purchased at the Kitchen Theatre.