We were having a busy week at our regular lives, doing what we do, attending the meetings we need to attend, making calls, doing work, seeing people. Speaking for myself, I was pooped by Thursday at 6:45 when my meeting let out. But I had also put on my calendar the Spring Program at Shawnee Park. So I wrestled with my fatigue, and decided in favor of going to see our pals at Shawnee.
Was I ever glad that I did!! The theme of the show was “All You Need Is Love”. The program artwork is reproduced here, with the sincere hope that it’s not yet copyrighted by the artist “Gabe”. Please take particular note of the eyelash detail on the young woman.
Each class performed a couple of songs, from the littlest ones all the way up to the Cool Cats. Mrs. Mueller’s class began with the “Pledge of Allegiance Rap.” It started with the Pledge of Allegiance, spoken respectfully. Then, as a chorus, the students focused on the “liberty and justice” phrase, repeated a few times. I have to say, the focus and repetition made me much more aware of the “Liberty and Justice – FOR ALL” portion of the pledge. And seeing all the kids from all backgrounds and in all shapes and sizes, I knew this was a particularly meaningful phrase for them, too. Having pledged our allegiance, we were ready for the rest of the show.
Then the little ones from Hyatt’s Class sang some old time favorites…….”Love Somebody” and “Share Your Love”. The second is to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round”. And the lyrics go something like this:
If you want to share your love, share your love, share your love
If you want to share your love………
Give a hug (verse 1)……Hold a hand (v 2) …….Give a Smile (v 3) …….and Blow a Kiss (v 4)
The final line, as you can see, is an “Action” line. And when verse 1 wrapped up, I thought we’d lost them all when they broke formation to give each other endless hugs! But love was the theme, so there wasn’t much concern, and the piano player played on, coaxing the kids to stay with the number. They regrouped and got back to verses 2, 3 and 4. But the hugs were precious!!
As Arlene’s Class did “A Little Wheel” and “We Love Food”, the paparazzi were out in force with hand-held videocams to record the action. The second number is to the tune of “Frere Jacques” and goes something like this…..”We love chicken, we love chicken, yes we do, yes we do…….” And there’s a little girl holding up a chicken drumstick. The song continues with a verse dedicated to several other foods, with props for each food item and each child getting to hold up the prop for their verse: We love Soup, We love Ice Cream, Pizza, Cake, Hot Dogs, etc…..Parents strained to see their little ones on stage, waving a hand here and there to get the kid’s attention so they could smile and wave to the camera. Once the student spotted Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, there was vigorous waving and smiles and even some hollering! “Hi MOM!!! Hi DAD!” And the piano player played on………
Miss Heather’s Class sang “Love Is A Circle” with expressive hand motions to indicate that “love is a circle that goes round and round, up and down, love is on the inside trying to get out, and love is whirling and twirling about!” They also sang “There’s a Big Red Heart” (to the tune of It’s a Small World….) and again their motions were very expressive of the “big red heart down inside of me. It is filled to the top, it will never never stop, there’s a big red heart in me!” Less coaxing by the piano player, and I began to be amazed that the children were adding dance to their songs.
Mrs. Vairet’s Class performed a very difficult number that you probably recognize, “Oh I Love A Rainy Night”. They wore yellow rainhats and made good use of their polka dot umbrellas, doing a little soft shoe and umbrella twirling. Pretty impressive. Their second number was the all time greatest hit “I Love Trash”. If you’ve forgotten those classic lyrics, the chorus includes: “Ohhh I love trash, Anything dirty or dingy or dusty, Anything ragged or rotten or rusty…..O I love trash.” And the piano player became more of an accompanist and less of a director…..
Then Mrs. Mueller’s class struck a patriotic note, reminding us how much we love America. They performed “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America”. They were fabulous! We were reminded of the fine country we live in, and the opportunities for all, and somehow, the rest of the week had totally faded away and a couple of us were moved to tears by these patriotic favorites, and the red, white and blue hats, tiaras, and a lot of flag-waving. I think it was God Bless America that featured a young soloist for one verse, with the rest of the class humming in the background. He was outstanding! Then they all joined in for the next verse, and they were ALL very good.
Enter the Cool Cats……clad in their special purple T-Shirts. They performed a vocal number which is a poem written for them by Marti Larson. The poem is beautiful.
I do my best because I have a dream.
I’m walking toward that dream of mine each day.
Practice, persevere and I’ll try again.
Dreams really do come true.
I work hard each day at what I want
To do when I am ready to move through.
I can be what I dream I wish to be.
Dreams really do come true.
To this point, it was the front of the T-Shirts that was visible. It said “I do my best because….”
And following the final line of the song, they all turned around in rhythmic formation to reveal the back, which read, “I have a dream”.
The vocal performance was extremely inspiring, and yet they went on to bring out musical instruments. Clarinets, drums, a flute, and perhaps others I couldn’t see. The Cool Cats performed the same number as an instrumental, and we were wowed!!
A slide show of some awesome and creative Cool Cat photography followed. The pix depict the Cool Cats in various poses, using artistry and props, creative lighting and composition, shadows and silhouettes. The smiling faces and powerful messages are evidence that these are very Cool Cats, indeed!
At this point in the program, I had no concept that there was any other part of my week, and all of the students and teachers assembled on stage to do a moving rendition of the Beatles’ tune, “All You Need Is Love.” Lennon and McCartney would have been really proud if they had seen and heard it.
It’s a Good Week After All!!!! Thank you Shawnee students, teachers, parents, accompanists and principal, Mrs. Julie Swanson. We loved the show!
Emily, Jan, Debbie and Maureen
