Year of the Lotus: School Play

The School of the Nations performed
Pinocchio

the classic story with a few modern twists.

The 4th-6th graders acted, danced, and sang while the high school students did the behind the scene jobs, including making costumes and doing the lights and sounds. All the students did a fantastic job and seemed to really enjoy participating in the play. Even Cade, who would rather have his nose in a book or be playing on a soccer field, had a fun time in his theatrical debut. He even hinted he might like to be in another play someday.

The play began in Gepetto's workshop where he wishes his special wooden puppet, Pinocchio, would be a real boy. Mother Fairy appears with 2 in-training fairies to grant Gepetto's wish. Pinocchio awakes and is granted a trial period to show he can be a "real boy". The Mother Fairy puts Jiminy Cricket in charge of helping Pinocchio learn to make good choices.

On the way to school the next day, Pinocchio gets distracted by Honest John and joins Stromboli's Circus. He performs a puppet dance and is then forced into a cage. One of the in-training fairies appears to help but curses him with a nose-growing spell when he lies to her.

Pinnochio escapes from the circus, but while racing Jiminy home, gets caught by Honest John and joins rival gangs on their way to Pleasure Island. Excited to go, the 2 gangs stop fighting and dance "Go to Pleasure Isle" to the tune of Gangnam Style.

Pleasure Island is the laboratory of a mad scientist trying to transform bad kids into "good children". After being hypnotized by video games, the kids one by one walk into Dr. Gazza's invention and get zapped into donkeys. Fortunately, the machine overheats when Pinocchio enters so he doesn't turn into a donkey and is able to escape.

After searching for Gepetto, Pinocchio and Jiminy discover he's been swallowed by a whale and go to rescue him. Inside the whale's belly, glow-in-the-dark sea creatures, including fish, seahorses, jellyfish, a starfish, and a mermaid, dance to Moves Like Fishes (tune of Moves Like Jagger). Pinocchio and Gepetto start a fire, make the whale sneeze, and are thrown out of the whale's belly.

Once on land, Mother Fairy and her 2 apprentices try to turn Pinocchio into a real boy. Having some trouble, they search an electronic device which tells them the youngest fairy has the knowledge and power. She struggles with the powerful wand for a time but eventually calls on the help of everyone.