Kindergartners stormed the stage of the Lowell Center outfitted in all grey ensembles, red bowties and rat ear headbands for their class play, The Rats of Hamelin! Ms. Sidoli wrote and adapted the script from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, changing the ending to a happy one, imparting encouraging messaging to the young performers. Mrs. Price and Mrs. Maloney narrated, mentioning the different kinds of rats that infested the village of Hamelin. There were fierce rats, crafty rats, mean rats, tough rats, cunning rats and more! The villagers were afraid of the rats, but only because they didn’t know them very well or how much the rats loved the community.
“I love the soccer field,” one rat hissed.
“I love the library,” another one said.
The rats were lonely and passed time by playing tricks on humans, especially teachers! They would hide in different places of the classroom like behind the library shelves and when the time was right the rats would jump out and say “BOO!”
The infestation was on the top of the mayor’s list, and he issued a reward of one thousand gold coins for any villagers that could get rid of the rats. None of the villagers’ efforts were successful until a caring villager named Hope took time to get to know the rats. She made a wonderful gesture of building a community center for the rats to live with a place for everyone in mind! The rats were moved by this offering and instead of their normal trickery, the rats invited villagers to spend time with them at the community center! In the end, the mean mayor was ousted and the rats were the new leaders of Hamelin due to their newfound kindness and honesty. The Lowell Center erupted into applause after the reprise of Carole King’s “Where You Lead I Will Follow.”
Kindergartners exuded pride and confidence in their stage directions, recitation of their lines, and expressive acting choices. Whether students are 4 years old or 14, as part of a cast, they are part of a team. This teaches them to collaborate and problem solve while enjoying the camaraderie and a sense of accomplishment in completing a big class project! Special thanks to Jane Rothwell who made the costumes and to Sean Reardon for his role as the Mayor! Congratulations to the Kindergarten class on their joyful performance!
