- [Announcer] Lead support for this program has been provided by the William Penn Foundation, with additional support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Sidewater Family Foundation, the Thomas Locke Charitable Fund, and viewers like you.

(playful upbeat music) (Albie's Elevator theme music) ♪ At the start of the day ♪ ♪ The sun says hello ♪ ♪ It's shining my way ♪ ♪ It's saying, "Let's go" ♪ ♪ It's so nice to hear ♪ ♪ The button go ding ♪ (elevator dings) ♪ Who could it be ♪ ♪ My heart starts to sing ♪ ♪ Albie's Elevator ♪ ♪ Albie's Elevator ♪ ♪ Albie's Elevator ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ (playful upbeat music continues) ♪ Each floor has as a friend ♪ ♪ Each floor has as a neighbor ♪ ♪ And where do we meet ♪ ♪ On Albie's elevator ♪ ♪ Albie's elevator ♪ ♪ Albie's elevator ♪ ♪ Albie's elevator ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ Albie's elevator ♪ (playful organ music) ♪ Whoa, people ♪ ♪ I'm looking at the floor ♪ ♪ It is so pretty ♪ - Oh, hi.

Welcome to my... ♪ Beautiful elevator ♪ I'm so excited to see you.

- Oh, Albie, enough of these loud noises, please.

- I'm not loud.

This is my elevator voice!

- Oh my.

- Besides, it's time to make sure the elevator is ready.

Tibitz!

- Activating robo earplugs, ready.

- Elevator buttons, ready?

- Elevator buttons are colorful, shiny and activated.

Ready.

- Turbo freezer, ready?

- [Tibitz] Freezing at turbo speed and full of delicious popsicles, yummy.

- (gasps) Yeah hoo!

And lastly, pep talk, ready!

- Woo hoo hoo.

- Pep talk, all we can control is ourselves.

- Whoa.

All we can control is ourselves?

I wonder what that means!

Oh, what, what?

(elevator dings) - Hey Albie, look at this.

I just fixed my neighbor's radio.

They wanted it to only play stations with flute music, listen.

(flute music) - Ooh, flutey.

- Isn't that weird and wonderful?

Floor five, please.

- Jay would like to go to floor five!

- Oh, wow, that's a loud voice.

- It's my elevator voice!

Do you love it?

- Not really.

It kind of makes my ears feel weird.

- Weird ears?

You don't think my voice is super awesome?

- I think it's a little too loud.

(Huggy Pepper speaking gibberish) - What do you mean?

- When you talk really loud, it makes it hard for me to talk and for you to hear me.

Could you talk a little quieter, please?

- Oh.

Is this better?

(glass shattering) - No, your volume is still too loud.

- [Albie] My what?

- Volume.

It's how loud or quiet something is, like on this flute radio.

This is louder.

(flute music) And this is quieter.

(flute music) In your case, you're being a little too loud.

- Oh, but... ♪ Elevator Voice is fun for everyone ♪ - Not fun for me, phew.

- Huggy Pepper isn't having fun.

- Elevator voice has been driving my hexagram batty.

- Tibitz doesn't seem to be having any fun either.

And I agree, your volume is too loud.

- But I don't think it is.

Oh, why doesn't anybody like my elevator voice?

- I think I might know someone who might be able to help.

Okay, Elevator Operator Albie.

Could you hit that button, please?

- You got it.

(elevator button clicks) Okay, elevator, destination volume.

- Starling mode activated, Albie.

(upbeat music) ♪ Up, up, up, up, up, up ♪ ♪ Calling voice machine ♪ ♪ Location locked on ♪ - Fusion coil electromagnetic signal firing at five billion woo-hoo's.

♪ Woohoo, woohoo, woohoo, woohoo, woohoo ♪ ♪ Following down, down, down, down, down, down ♪ (elevator ding) - [Tibitz] We have arrived.

(Chabrelle singing opera music) - Oh, hello, Albie.

- Whoa, who are you?

- I'm Chabrelle Williams.

I'm an opera singer.

- What's opera?

- Well, opera is a way of telling stories with music and singing and right now I'm warming up my voice to sing.

(Chabrelle singing opera music) - Oh, it's like when I like this!

I call it my elevator voice!

- (laughs) What an amazing voice.

Yes, it is.

And no, sometimes.

- Sometimes?

- Well, sometimes in opera you can sing loudly.

Let's say the line, "Hello, Albie."

♪ Hello, Albie ♪ Being loud can mean saying something exciting.

♪ Hello, hello, Albie ♪ Or maybe saying something proudly.

♪ Hello, hello, Albie ♪ And sometimes in opera you can say things quietly.

Let's say, "Jay, hello, Jay."

♪ Hello, Jay ♪ Being quiet can mean I'm telling a secret.

♪ Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, Jay, Jay ♪ Or maybe saying something with love.

♪ Hello, Jay ♪ Sometimes what I sing is loud and sometimes what I sing is quiet.

- So volume is important in opera?

- Volume, yes, exactly.

Or what we call in opera, dynamics.

It's not just about what you sing, but how you sing it.

Can I show you?

- Yes!

(drum roll music) ♪ Hello, Albie ♪ ♪ Hello, Jay ♪ ♪ Hello, Albie ♪ ♪ Hello, Jay ♪ ♪ Hello, hello, hello, Albie ♪ ♪ Hello, Jay ♪ ♪ Hello, Albie ♪ ♪ Hello, Jay ♪ (audience clapping) - Bravo.

- Woo hoo!

- Thank you.

And that is why volume is so important in music, in opera, and in life.

- Wow, wow, wow.

Do you think I can do an opera?

- I know you can, and every opera singer needs their own opera fan.

Jay, catch.

(fan swooshes) (Jay laughs) ♪ Good bye, Albie ♪ ♪ Good bye, Jay ♪ - Wow.

Opera is... ♪ Amazing ♪ Oh wait, I don't have to be loud all the time.

Sometimes I can be very quiet.

- This opera fan is so cool and it really works.

What are you going to do with it?

- I'm going to perform an opera about what I learned today, but I'll need a little help.

Huggy.

(Huggy squeaks) Huggy, I'm sorry for being so loud earlier.

I learned that my volume is important and now I need your help.

- Say no more.

Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.

(Huggy knocking) (playful organ music) (instruments tuning) (audience chatting) (audience clapping) (playful music) ♪ Today I thought it would be fun to be loud ♪ (playful music continues) ♪ And I got mad when Huggy said ♪ ♪ That's not allowed ♪ ♪ Then I learned instead of being loud all the time ♪ ♪ Sometimes you can be quiet ♪ ♪ But the best place to be ♪ ♪ If you ask me ♪ (Albie singing scales) ♪ Is right there in the middle ♪ (playful music continues) (Tibitz's eyes buzzing) (playful music continues) ♪ So between quiet and loud ♪ ♪ I am proud to be ♪ ♪ Right there in the middle ♪ (audience clapping) Thank you, thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

- Albie, that was amazing.

That was the best opera I've ever seen.

- Albie, tickle.

- I Love you, Huggy.

I love you, Jay.

Sorry for being so loud earlier.

- It's okay.

We're happy you learned about controlling your volume.

- Thanks, everyone, for spending time with me today.

You know, elevator voice was fun, but not fun for everyone.

I want to think about how my volume makes other people feel.

All right, people, this is for my new show.

La BoHuggy, a quiet opera.

Let's do some, what are they called?

Vocal warmups.

♪ Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi, mi ♪ ♪ Mi, mi, mi, mi, mi ♪ (Albie and Jay singing at same time) (upbeat music) (lively organ music) (elevator dings) (playful organ music) ♪ Why can't breakfast be for anytime, for anyone ♪ ♪ For everyone ♪ ♪ Oh, it can be for anytime ♪ ♪ You can eat lots of things ♪ ♪ Flapjacks, scrambled eggs ♪ ♪ Waffles with ice cream ♪ - Oh, hi.

I'm so glad you're here.

Welcome to my whizz bang wonderful elevator!

I'm just making sure the elevator is ready for the day.

Ready, Tibitz?

- Chip chap, I am.

- Elevator buttons, ready?

- [Tibitz] Elevator buttons are colorful, shiny and activated.

Ready.

- Cereal collection, ready?

- [Tibitz] Fully stocked on all favorites.

- Pep talk, ready?

(bubbles popping) - Pep talk, our differences are what make us special.

- Ooh, special.

I'm special and you're special, and you're special.

Special is all around.

(friends laughing) (elevator dings) Oh good, a neighbor is stopping by for a ride.

- Albie, I've been giving it a lot of thought and I think if I was a day of the week, I would definitely be a Tuesday and I'm okay with that.

- Ooh.

I'd be a Sunday for sure.

- Totally.

- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Where are you heading today?

Delivering some sweatpants and sauerkraut to floor 16?

- Oh, or croissants and camping chairs for floor four?

- Oh, maybe a flat jack flipper and a flute to floor 44?

- Nope, I actually have a delivery for the elevator.

- A delivery for the elevator, that's amazing!

- Pretty special, right?

- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Is it from a super secret friend or the wizard?

- What wizard?

- Any wizard.

- Nope, it's actually from Rosie.

- Ah, Rosie.

- She was cleaning out her office and getting rid of a few things.

She thought that maybe the elevator could use a new piece of artwork for the wall.

- How thoughtful.

- We do have a blank spot on the wall after the accident.

- Ah, yes, the accident.

(gentle piano music) - What Accident?

- Well... (harp music) I can flip twice as many flapjacks with two flapjack flippers, just watch.

(flapjacks swooshing) (Albie grunting) - Albie, be careful.

(flapjacks swooshing) - The blindfold helps me stay in the zone, Tibitz.

- You're losing control of the flippers.

- Whoa!

(sad music) (Huggy gasping) (sad music continues) (flapjacks swooshing) (sad music continues) (Albie laughing) - Albie.

(Albie laughing) (flapjacks bang) (sad dramatic music) (Huggy gasping) (duck picture crashing) (sad music continues) - No!

(harp music) Those poor ducks.

Double flapjack flipper hands was a good idea.

- Twice as many flapjacks?

- I just needed more practice.

- [Tibitz] And fewer blindfolds.

- Well, now you have something new for that spot on the wall.

Ta da!

- Oh, wow.

- [Tibitz] It's, it's... - Kind of weird.

- So beautiful.

- Wait, what?

- Wait, what?

- Okay, so you both said different things.

- Yeah, I said it was kind of weird.

I mean, it's just sort of swirly blue stuff.

I don't know what it's supposed to be.

- The colors of blue are so lovely.

It reminds me of the ocean.

And, if you really look, there are curlicues there.

Well, I quite like them.

- You seem really into this painting, Tibitz.

- I think it might be my favorite painting I've ever seen, Zia.

- Oh, okay, so we could hang this blue thing or, or... Yeah, we could hang this picture of a cutie little cat sitting in a can of beans that I just tore out of a magazine.

Oh, pretty cute, right?

(Albie purring) - Definitely cute, but Tibitz really likes this painting from Rosie.

- Incredible.

Stunning!

- I think you mean blue.

Zia, could we (grunts) huddle for a second, (grunts) away from the blue rectangle?

- Uh, sure.

- Between you and me, I do not get what's so cool about that painting.

- I'm getting that, but your friend Tibitz really likes it.

I think it would mean a lot to him to hang it up.

- But maybe we could hang up this little bean cat picture instead?

Meow, I like beans.

Or I could find another cat picture.

Oh, or what about this?

It's a coupon for free pants.

- Albie.

It's totally fine not to get what Tibitz likes about the painting.

- It's just a blue rectangle.

- But, it's also totally fine for Tibitz to really like the painting and wanna hang it up.

Maybe put yourself in Tibitz's shoes.

- He doesn't wear shoes.

- It's a thing people say.

It means try and imagine how that person is feeling.

Imagine how you would feel if someone said the thing you liked was weird.

- Oh, an imagination challenge, but with feelings.

- Exactly.

I think I know someone we can call for a little help.

That button, please.

- You got it.

Ba.

(upbeat music) - Starling mode activated, Albie.

(upbeat music continues) ♪ Up, up, up, up, up, up, up ♪ (upbeat music continues) ♪ Calling voice machine ♪ ♪ Location locked on ♪ - Banana buttons going bananas.

- Banana, banana.

- Banana, banana.

♪ Going down, down, down, down, down, down ♪ - [Tibitz] We have arrived.

(elevator dings) - Hey, Zia.

- Hi, this is my friend, Albie.

- Hello.

- Nice to meet you, Albie, I'm Ariel.

- Albie and I are talking about putting yourself in someone else's shoes.

- Even if they don't wear shoes.

- She's having trouble understanding why her friend likes a painting that she thinks is kind of- - Kind of eh.

- Well, different people like different things, including art.

You don't have to like the same things as other folks.

- You don't?

- Nope, there's no right answer to liking things.

Right now I'm in a big art museum with a lot of different art on the walls.

Maybe we can check it out and pick which ones we like.

- Ooh, that sounds great.

- Okay, friends, we are going to look around this space at all these different paintings and each pick one we like.

Maybe we all pick the same one, or maybe we all pick different ones.

Let's find out.

(playful piano music) (swooshing whistles) - The reason why I like this painting is because it kind of represents my dad, and since he likes blue, I think the blue represents the ocean.

(playful piano music continues) - This painting reminds me of Superman 'cause it reminds me of kryptonite.

I like the color because it's kind of shiny.

- So the reason why I like this painting is because it reminds me of TV and my phone.

The blue reminds me of the TV when my TV cuts on.

- What I like about this painting is it reminds me of space and the universe.

Reminds me of the sun.

It reminds me of an art project that I did.

(kids clapping) (playful piano music continues) (friend swooshes) The reason I like this artwork is because I like the designs and the red lines that they put.

- See, Albie, we all picked different paintings and for different reasons.

There's no right answer.

- Different people can have different favorites.

- Exactly.

Hope that helped.

Bye, Albie.

- Bye, thank you.

- Thanks.

(elevator door clicks) - Huh.

- Hmm.

- You know, I think I should give the painting another shot.

- Oh?

- Yeah, it really means something to Tibitz.

Even though it doesn't look like much to me, different people, different favorites.

- Different people, different favorites.

I like it.

- It's like how some people like flapjacks and some people like French toast.

- Some people like a nice green smoothie.

- There's no all-time best breakfast, there's just my best breakfast, and your best breakfast, and they can be totally different.

- Should we try this again?

- All right.

Tibitz, can you tell me more about what you like about this blue painting?

- When I look at it, I see lots of little shapes, almost like looking at clouds and seeing one that looks like a donut or galoshes.

- Galosh?

- It means rain boots.

- That's a fun way to look at it, Tibitz.

- I have to say, that picture of the kitten you found is quite charming.

What is he doing in that can of beans?

- Right?

I mean it's perfectly funny.

(laughs) - So, what's the plan?

Is the painting going on the wall?

- Absolutely.

It's special to my friend, Tibitz.

- Oh, thank you, Albie.

- All right!

(lively organ music) - The blue rectangle didn't have to be my all-time favorite.

We can all have different favorites.

Besides, I think Tibitz will be really happy to have it hanging in the elevator and a happy Tibitz is definitely my favorite.

Have you ever had a disagreement with a friend?

Did you get to put yourself in their shoes, or sandals?

Or rhinestone cowboy boots?

- Hey, wow.

- Oh, hi, Huggy.

(Huggy speaking gibberish) - Of course you can keep the picture of the cat in a can of beans.

I'm so glad you like it.

- Beans.

(elevator dings) - Ooh, that means another friend needs a ride.

Maybe it's a real life cat in a can of beans, a gray cat with garbanzos, or a black cat in some black beans, a calico in calico beans, a Maine coon in chick peas, legumes and cats abound.

(elevator door clicks) (upbeat playful music) (upbeat playful music continues) - [Announcer] Lead support for this program has been provided by the William Penn Foundation, with additional support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Sidewater Family Foundation, the Thomas Locke Charitable Fund, and viewers like you.

- [Announcer] Continue the fun at home with art projects, activities and printables, paired with the episode you just watched.

Available at WHYY.org/AlbiesElevator.

(dog barking) (trumpet music) (gentle music)