Show and Tell Post 2

Basic Information About the Play:  

All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten was actually a book before it became a play. It was originally written by Robert Fulghum and published in 1988. It was later conceived and adapted by Ernest Zulia. The music and lyrics were added by David Caldwell. The play has been produced multiple times and has earned standing ovations from Singapore to Prague and from L.A. to D.C. I could not find the first production of All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten, but I assume that means that there are too many productions (considering the range of audiences). One could find a copy of the play online. One could also find the original book online or in a library. (http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/p47/All-I-Really-Need-to-Know-I-Learned-in-Kindergarten/product_info.html)

The Basic Plot:

The plot of All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten is very interesting. It is both a drama and a comedy. There isn’t necessarily a plot per say. It is a compilation of short stories/scenes/ and monologues that demonstrate life lessons. Each story is lesson based but very heartwarming. The characters are challenged with the task of playing multiple characters of varying backgrounds and ages. The same character that, like all the characters in the beginning, portrays a five year old kindergartener must later portray a very elderly women whose husband is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  That story in particular is extremely charming.  It is set in a hospital waiting room. It is about how every now and then this woman’s husband thinks it is Christmas morning when it is not. So all day long he sings Christmas Carols, asks his wife to tell him about Christmases past (which gives her the opportunity to give him better memories than the Christmases he’s experienced), and the wife even ends up inviting over their children for food and presents sometimes. The scene ends when the wife says, “the girls think of it as Father’s day, and I…I think of it as Valentine’s Day. Merry Christmas.” Which is one of the sweetest things I have every heard in my life. All of the stories come together to create a powerful and entertaining show.

The Critical Take:

Two dramaturgical choices that Ernest Zulia made were to create the script as a compilation of stories and to add music to it. The play is made up of short, varying scenes that have little or no relation to one another.  This makes them like little mini plays rather than one big play. The effect that this has is amazing. It allows multiple morals and lessons to be taught with really good examples. Rather than fewer lessons, not being taught as well because they must all connect. How else could you fit kindergarteners, a deaf teenager, a groom, a holocaust survivor, and a professor all in to one story? The music in the play is beautiful. It helps the stories to flow into each other and also makes the story more playful. So much of growing up is experienced through music. The songs also help carry the meaningful messages throughout the play. Just like the abc’s they help reinforce the lessons and make them enjoyable. I’m really glad that Zulia decided to make Robert Fulghum’s book into a show.