The Lower Elementary students performed an original Musical by Alex Mitnick, our Emmy Award-winning music teacher, and Alan Bell, based on the themes of Optimism vs. Pessimism and Facts vs. Fiction. It was a fun, lively performance enjoyed by all.
Story Synopsis: The musical opens with the Red Cap dolls on display in the toy factory showroom as the caretaker is about to close down the building for the night. The Red Caps come to life when he leaves.
Two of the dolls have a scary announcement to make – It has come to their attention that children often neglect their toys, lose, and even break them. The Red Caps are horrified and divide on the issue. The Pessimists are sure that children are dangerous, while the Optimists are sure that children are loving and kind. One of the Red Caps asserts that sometimes there are good times, and other times bad. It isn’t one or the other, but both.
Their discussion is interrupted by a loud banging from a mysterious box. They hear a voice, “Let me out,” it says. What could it be? The Pessimists are sure it means trouble, the Optimists want to rescue it. It turns out to be a Robot, a new toy for modern children that will replace the Red Caps. The Robot distinguishes Facts from Fiction and unknowingly upsets the dolls by telling them they are History, the last of their kind. The Robot is the prototype of the new production line of childproof toys.
The Robot is confused when the Red Caps accuse it of hurting their feelings as they comfort each other. The Optimists realize that the Robot has no heart because it has no feelings. “You are not one of us because you have no heart,” they sing and dance. The Red Caps’ unity is their strength. The Robot feels lonely and wants to join them. It does not know happiness or sadness, until it realizes it wants to be their friend. The Robot dances with the Red Caps and declares them to be the best little dolls there are – “That’s a fact.” It has learned about happiness from the dolls.
The night has ended. The Robot goes back into its box and the Red Caps freeze, just in time, as the caretaker comes in and says aloud that they have all been bought by a collector and will all live together in a grand display case in a museum, safe from dust and separation from each other. They all hope the Robot will join them at some time in the future, but the Pessimists are not sure that will ever happen.
