When I was 9 years old, I was invited to a birthday party.  The activity at the party was to go see a new Disney movie that had just come out.  "Mary Poppins" was such a wonderful film and the music was infectious.  The whole audience literally went out of the theater singing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Just a Spoonful of Sugar" and "Chim Chim Cheree" and "Jolly Holiday" and "Feed the Birds."  I went home and told my mother all about the music, oh yes, and about the show, too.  I even sang the songs to her.  My aunts were visiting us at that time and just happened to have their reel to reel tape recorder set up.  My mother hopped to the piano and accompanied me singing all the songs I remembered from the movie.  We have listened to that recording since then and marvel that the songs from "Mary Poppins" would strike a young child so powerfully that she could remember the words and music so perfectly just from seeing the movie once.  Even more remarkable was my mother's ability to accompany the songs without hearing them in person at all.
          The new movie "Saving Mr. Banks" tells the story of Walt Disney's personal quest to get the rights from author P.L. Travers to make "Mary Poppins."  The story was very moving, but I was especially interested in how the songs came about.  Richard and Robert Sherman had quite a difficult time pleasing Mrs. Travers.  She did not approve of "made-up" words and rhymes.  And that was their signature schtick!  Eventually, though, things worked out.  Mrs. Travers softened to the ideas presented to her, especially after she heard the finale song "Let's Go Fly a Kite."  Structurally, that song is simple and joyous, yet it reaches down to much deeper human emotions, those of love and healing.  Little wonder everyone in the theater that day went out singing it.
           The Sherman Brothers were one of the most prolific songwriting teams of all time.  They wrote songs for many, many Disney movies throughout the 1960's and 1970's and wrote for more movies and stage plays after that.  My generation, Disney fans of course, was raised on these songs.  None of them were too musically complex or sophisticated, yet they resonated with truth and joy and humor.  The most important barometer of the success of a musical show in those days was whether the audience would leave the theater singing the songs.  In that respect, the Sherman Brothers were highly successful.
          As a songwriter of Children's Theater material, I hope to fulfill that same goal.  My aim is to create songs that make the children smile and go out of the theater singing!  The songs need not be sophisticated or complex or even great art.  They do need, however, to resonate with joy and love and fun.  It helps, too, if they are CATCHY and SHORT!  Believe me, there is nothing quite so fulfilling as to hear the audience go out of the theater humming or whistling your happy tunes!
          

          The hardest part of directing a children's theater show is coming up with a working rehearsal schedule.  With the unpredictability of kids and their families and their school and sports and lessons and social obligations, as well as winter wellness and weather issues, we are having a dickens of a time keeping on track!  The few hours we are able to see the students each week makes forward progress an almost insurmountable task.
           I have done summer theater camps in 30 dedicated hours in a 2 week timeframe, and tuition-based Children's Theater shows in 30 hours of rehearsal time in an 8 week time frame, but doing a school show as an after-school club offering in 30 hours of stolen minutes spread out over 10 weeks --- that is more than difficult -- it is a nightmare!  I do not recommend it.  Thirty hours over a shorter period is much more reasonable, depending on how complicated the show is.  Our main problem seems to be that our 40 minutes here and there does not give us adequate time to string scenes together.  We might get one scene finished and then go on to work something else.  Then, by the time we get a chance to come back to it a week or more later, the kids have forgotten everything.  What a challenge!
          Hopefully, our longer Friday rehearsals coming up and our few 3 hour Saturday rehearsals can save us.  We are at the "five weeks to go" count down. Time to step it up and get things really set.  We haven't even started working with props and set pieces yet.  And then there are the awkward moments learning to wear and perform in the costumes.  Yikes!  Wish us luck!
          The good news is that the kids are adorable and are singing well.  Some of them are really starting to get into their characters.  The dances are almost finished with polishing yet to come.  Now if we can get off book and cut out the silliness we ought to make great strides in a short time.  For goodness sakes, the message of this show -- "Never Cry Wolf" -- is WORK.  We had better start practicing what we preach!