America’s Melting Pot: An All-Abilities Production of School House Rock Live!
Recently, I ushered at the All-Abilities Production of School House Rock Live, performed at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls, NY. Andrew O'Rourke, the artistic director of this production, founded the company in 2022 as a way to bring the performing arts to all, forming a welcoming, all-inclusive community for theater. He lives with cerebral palsy, but, as his organization’s bio proudly states, he “has never let his disability stop him”.
I first met Andy when I learned to volunteer as an usher at productions performed at the Wood Theater back in 2018. He is a theatre enthusiast, currently enrolled in SUNY Empire’s Bachelor of Fine Art program, with a focus on theater, music education, and non-profit management. His production company has already had success in 2024, with their production of A Trip to the Moon and Snoopy the Musical. I was super excited to see the latest musical, and I am glad I did!
The story begins with a teacher, Tom played by Matt Milligan, nervous about his first day of teaching. He decides to turn on the television, and the audience and himself are treated to the sounds of the original School House Rock. Suddenly, five performers are whisked on stage, each representing Tom’s inner world. George, played by Drew Gagnon, portrays his romantic side; Dori, played by Allison O’Conner, represents his silly side; Shulie, played by Brooke Evans, depicts his sweet side; Joe, played by Dune Mayberger, personifies his cool side; and Dina, played by Rebecca Kilpeck, represents his mature side.
It begins with an English lesson, as we are taught the importance of verbs and nouns. The musical interludes graciously move to important nouns in history, as we discover great inventors in America, from Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel Morse, and more. Next, we are treated to a rather ingenious way to teach the magical number three, as George spins a wheel which illuminates each succession of the three-multiplication table.
The main actresses playing Shulie, Dina, and Dori, are brought into the limelight for the next song, detailing the great moments for women in American history. The character Joe takes us into a hardware store to teach us all about adverbs, concluding that they provide “extra service indubitably.” Continuing on the English lesson, Shulie describes the complexity of adjectives. As Tom mentions that he, “can teach grammar with a little imagination”, George changes his name to Bill, as the audience claps. The song, “Just a Bill”, is one of the most well-known songs from School House Rock, and it is certainly timely, given the uncertainly of our current Federal government’s escapades.
Moving into more American history, Dori provides a lesson on the founding of the United States with a look at the Constitution, from the Preamble to the Bill of Rights. Next, Tom mentions that “learning should be fun. It should be a game,” as Joe uses the game of Hide-and-Seek to teach the five-multiplication table, counting up to 120. To end the first half of the show, Tom teaches the audience about human biology, encapsulating the journey of blood flow, or the “big, red beautiful ocean”, inside all of us.
After an intermission for snacks (and donating money for their raffle baskets), the show opens up on Joe talking about the importance of pronouns, and Shulie gives a lesson on the eight-multiplication table. George provides a lesson on gravity and the heroic nature of the number zero. Next, the cast perform another long-time favorite of School House Rock: Conjunction Junction, teaching more grammar lessons.
The cast then perform a song about “The Great American Melting Pot”, incredibly timely as well. The overall message of inclusion of all races, religions, and cultures is becoming a forgotten memory. We should all learn to appreciate our differences, struggles, and journeys, finding the beauty in diversity. Dori deftly moves into the expansion of the United States with the song, “Elbow Room”, followed by Dina’s interplanetary look into our galaxy. The rest of the cast hold up a different planet, as we follow an artful depiction of “galaxy girl” on a journey through space. Joe explains interjections, the final penultimate song about grammar, while Tom tells the story of Mr. Morton, explaining predications for the final song.
As the cast of characters say goodbye to Tom, wishing him luck on his first day of teaching, we are reminded that learning can be fun and imaginative. Each song showed the strengths of each performer. Any mistakes went unnoticed as everyone helped each other on stage when someone forgot a line, missed a dance step, or dropped something. As the production continued, the audience could see the confidence blossom from each performer. Performing on stage is a tremendous act of courage and those living with disabilities have it especially hard, trying to adapt in a society that sometimes does not accommodate their unique abilities. But all the performers, from dancers, singers, musicians, and stagehands, performed fearlessly. They conquered the stage, not only bringing a smile to each other but to the entire audience.
From learning nouns, adverbs, and adjectives to how a bill becomes law, the whole audience took a journey back to school in an uplifting and entertaining musical experience. Andrew O'Rourke has created a wonderful organization that will continue to inspire a new generation of stage performers in upstate New York. It has already brought new life into the local theater community, and I look forward to watching more productions in the future.
