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 As the show begins, it is the night before the first day of school. Maggie, Patch, Casey, and Jen are busy getting ready and at the same time driving their Moms crazy! The entire cast joins in on The Night Before. In the morning the kids are waiting at the Bus Stop, talking about what they did over their summer vacations. When a late summer shower appears, they kick off their shoes and perform That’s What Kids Do! It’s a day of firsts for Kindergarten graduates Kelly and Joe. Today is their first full day of school, and their first day in 1st Grade. They lead the Cast in Long Walk From Kindergarten while searching for their new classroom. Some of the bigger girls, Maggie, Mary, Ana & Louise, are having a discussion about Zak and his “coolness factor”. Zak steps up to explain that coolness runs in his family. The girls back him up as he sings and dances to Cool. Just before she heads off to school Jen has a Fashion Crisis. She explains how important fashion is to her, and of her plan to become a famous fashion designer one day. |
Little sister Hannah interrupts Jen’s planning to see if she wants to play, but Jen has to run off to school. Left at home, Hannah is realizing that with big sister Jen off at school, and Mom busy with Mom stuff, she and her Teddy Bear are on their own to make good use of their time. Hannah sings She’d Appreciate It about all of the wonderful things she’ll do for her big sister Jen while she is at school. As the school year progresses the battle of the girls and boys on the playground is coming to a head. Mary is so frustrated that she tells the boys in song to Give the Girls a Break!
The boys do not take it lying down. Zak leads them in their rebuttal song, Our Way. Greg lets us know that it is OK to be short. In fact, he’s Short, and Proud of It! It is a slightly surreal scene that greets Patch, Casey, Greg and Kelly when they discover the rest of the cast groaning on the lunchroom floor. Kaz and the rest of the Cast come back to life to sing Cafeteria Food. Our tribute to school lunch rooms everywhere. When the Teacher passes back to the kids their homework papers on the favorite places they have been Karina is moved to song. In My Room is all about the freedom children feel when they can be anything they want to be. |
 Later when Teacher is piling on one more assignment Maggie has had it! She pours her soul out in Homework Blues along with the rest of the class. Between classes everyone is buzzing about Zoe’s party. Louise can’t believe she is the only one not invited. The Party is all about how it feels when you think you’ve been left out. Tanya is caught daydreaming in class. When the Teacher asks her what she is so lost in thought about, Tanya sings Summer Sun. By the end of the song the whole class joins in, and the Teacher is ready for a break. On another day in class, the kids are caught passing a note. When Mary admits that it is her note the Teacher gives her the dreaded order to “share the note with all of us”. Mary is mortified, and she bursts in to song with The Note. The kids get together at Zoe’s party to work on their Future World projects. Everyone has ideas about what the future world will be like. There’s everything from schools that start at noon, to flying hat transporters. However, Rachel brings the show to a rousing conclusion with her wise words and a heartfelt rendition of Shout The Message! |
