The students at Mile108 Elementary put on a wonderful performance for its Aladdin play on May 13-14.
In association with Missoula Children’s Theatre, the play not only featured the title star and the Genie of the Lamp but a variety of characters including vagabonds, talking palm trees and even some little penguins.
In the play, Aladdin is trying to find a date for prom and he has his sights set on Princess Dory. Along the way, he gets help from Ali Baba, some vagabonds and, of course, the Genie of the Lamp who was creatively played by multiple actors.
Despite having had only four days to rehearse, the students performed confidently as they carried out a one-hour play, which included more than 50 characters and multiple musical numbers. In addition to the actors, some students performed assistant director duties, such as directing the actors and working the lights.
Thanks to a witty script and accompanying songs written by Missoula Children’s Theatre executive director Michael McGill, this version of Aladdin had some enjoyable additions to the cast. Some students were Sinbad and his band of sailors, while others were peculiar yet intriguing additions like the hysterical Not So Great Wonders of the World including the Not So Great Pyramid and the Roman Aqua-Duck.
In the end, the play was all about accepting people for who they are and that you don’t need to be a prince to impress those you like. It also touched on accepting new people into your community, even if they are penguins.
This performance was the final show in the tour for Missoula teachers Carlysle Garland and Molly Waters. Having begun in Ellensburg, Washington, the women brought this play to schools in Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Alberta and British Columbia.
“This cast did extremely well,” Garland says, adding they both enjoyed working with the Mile 108 Elementary School students.
“There is something special about small communities because the kids are more focused and do well for each other and for themselves.”