Judy and David are a bright, personable young couple from Richmond Hill, newly launched on a fast-rising career as children's entertainers.

They opened the Markham Theatre's 1994-95 professional season last Sunday with a lively concert for the Family Series.

Their show is refreshingly gimmick-free. The emphasis is solely on the joy of making music - which they do with verve and polish and a kinetic rapport with each other and the audience.

They sing, they play (Judy the piano, David the guitar), they write their own songs and put an original spin on old favorites. And from first to last they include the audience, encouraging it to sing along, clap, snap, gesticulate and dance. An hour at an aerobics class could hardly provide more exercise.

The kids loved it, not to mention the parents. Although he sat smiling broadly, my friend Scott Davison, eight, was reluctant to join in at first. (The older the child, the more self-conscious). But even he couldn't resist gyrating to 'The Twist Song' and 'I'm a Funky Teapot.'

And no one could resist the challenge of 'My Bagel Lies Over The Ocean,' when we had to stand or sit on words beginning with B and David kept throwing in odd interjections like 'Bob Barker' to make it tougher. Merriment was rife.

Quieter moments came in a gentle sing-along of 'Kumbaya,' and the lovely, evocative ballad 'Rainbow Waiting for Me,' the couple's own work. Here the duo was joined by a surprise guest, children's singer Nadia.

The finale turned into a housewide dancefest when a clutch of Dads (one of them Judy's, another escorting his tiny daughter) was enticed onstage to twist to a new song, called 'I'm a Choo Choo Train.'

Strong backup was contributed throughout the show by the four-member All Together Now Band, with Tom Rasky on drums, his sister Michelle on keyboard, Michael Witzenhausen on bass and Brandon Scott on everything else.

With unflagging energy and a real love of music and of kids - Judy and David made the hour fly by.

The audience left smiling, the kids jabbering their enthusiasm - and I still can't get 'Funky Teapot' out of my head.