It might seem like a curious thing for an off-Broadway show to premiere at 11 a.m. on a weekday, but at The Actors Temple Theatre there is a method to such madness. The Love Note, a new musical written by Gail Phaneuf and directed by Russell Garrett, began its run this Veteran's Day with a packed audience of tots who had the day off from school.

It goes something like this: Jessie (Bethany McCall) is the new girl at school, a smart, pretty redhead who comes from a distinctly non-urban place (she tells her class about milking a cow on her grandfather's farm, and they start mooing at her). The popular clique, led by Brittany, an aspiring actress with mommy issues and a pretty convincing bully, promises Jessie popularity and friends by the score, as long as she trades lunches with her and stays away from her crush, nice guy Peter (Sam Harvey). If you think I'm describing the plot of Mean Girls, you wouldn't be far off. Except Brittany is an old school bully. She takes Jessie's lunch daily and eats it in front of her with relish, making sure to read out loud the little notes of affirmation and love Jessie's mom writes her. This leaves Jessie in an understandable rut, and she goes home every day to spend time with Airy (Courtney Rada), her imaginary best friend who plays with her, encourages her to make friends, and helps her plot revenge, albeit lighthearted, against her tormentor.

My struggle with the play can be illustrated pretty summarily by the rosy-cheeked theatergoer who was seated to my right. About five years old, she was very interested that I was taking notes, so during intermission I explained that I was going to write a review and asked what she thought so far. She was shy, so I asked her a more direct question: who is you favorite character? This question she answered excitedly and without hesitation. "Brittany!" That's right, the rich mean girl, with a tight pink dress and a designer purse. Hmm.

The play suffers from serious growing pains. The audience of The Love Note was too young to get the complicated issues being presented, and the message doesn't land as simply and clearly as it should. But to those who may benefit -- tweens and teens -- it misses too. And here's why: I spent the whole first act trying to guesstimate how old these kids are supposed to be, and couldn't figure it out. Some wear skimpy dresses and makeup, but others wear clear indicators of childhood -- tutus, tiaras, and capes. When the only adult character in the play, the Lunch Lady, who rather concerningly neglects to speak up about all of the bullying she witnesses daily (though that's a whole other issue), reminisces about being bullied when she was ten, I almost did a spit-take. Romance, cursing, sky high wedge heels -- was that a Cosmo I saw Brittany reading in the girl's bathroom? -- aren't plausible as the problems of fourth graders.

The players are talented and energetic, and there are many moments of whimsy and fun. The songs, though not terrifically memorable, are catchy and cute. But bullying is simply too big of an issue to miss the mark on, especially when you want to gear your play towards the very children affected or soon to be affected by these very real difficulties of adolescence. And the message the musical ends up delivering is not only convoluted, but also buried underneath a strange glorification of bullying. To illustrate, a "bookworm" gets his books knocked to the ground or called a loser or given a wedgie. The audience laughs at the slapstick. Then there's a huge, splashy musical number about a food fight where the victims are, of course, the nerdy kids, and it comes off as nothing short of an advertisement for bullying: see how much fun they're having?

This show would be best suited for young teens who can understand the subtleties of Jessie's struggle, and are astute enough to see the forest through the trees, as the saying goes. I want to caution parents with younger kids to gear up for a lot of explaining about what exactly the message is that they should be taking away. All in all I'd say that this love note, though sweet, could use some serious revision.

The Love Note musical, written by playwright/composer Gail Phaneuf, is directed and choreographed by Russell Garrett, with music direction by Rachael Ziering, costumes by Carol Meehan Sherry, sets by Josh Iacovelli, lighting by Josh Danzig and executive produced by James Farrelly. The ensemble cast includes Blair Heather Anderson, Nick Anastasia, James Michael Avance, Megan Beard, Mark Blowers, Kathleen Cameron, Adam Cavalieri, Grace Olson-Davidson, Jeff Deglow, Lauren DeFilippo, Jessie Fallow, Kelsey Flynn, Rosanne Gully, Sam Harvey, Katie Rose Ialacci, Kevin Ray Johnson, Bethany McCall, Katie Mebane, Jenna Perez, Justin Selig, and Ariella Serur. Performances are Wednesdays and Sundays at 10 AM through December 21 at Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th St, NYC.