If only adults could remember the lessons learned in childhood, the world might be a better place.
Iola High School drama students will offer a reminder with “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” The play runs Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
It’s an adaptation of the essays compiled in Robert Fulghum’s book. IHS performed the play in 2008 when director Richard Spencer considered it a perfect fit for a vast array of talent among the actors.
Illustrating the play’s timelessness, Spencer is directing it again.
“The life lessons taught in this show are always current. This cast also brings a wealth of talent,” Spencer wrote in a program note.
The opening scene offers a list of some of the first important lessons we learn as children.
“It’s the sandbox code of ethics”: Share. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Don’t take things that don’t belong to you. Say you’re sorry. Clean up your own mess. And my personal favorite: Take a nap each day.
The cast of nine and one behind-the-scenes disembodied voice offer a series of vignettes to deliver those life lessons. Some are serious. Some are funny. Each is profound.
The chemistry of the ensemble works so well, it seems almost unfair to single out individual performances. Yet, each is given a chance to shine through monologues and dialogues. Each plays several characters. Sometimes, they’re all playing the same role.
COLE MOYER plays a shy young boy named Norman who wants to play a pig in “Cinderella,” a classic fairytale that does not include a pig. But the teacher says, “So be it.” And as the pig, Norman steals the show and redefines the entire story.
“The pig was so earnest, so sincere. So very… there.”
The same could be said for Moyer, who delivers his lines with a confident, staccato cadence reminiscent of Howard Cosell. Moyer is featured again as “Beethoven,” with a more serious yet powerful take on depression.
Lainey Oswald also gets multiple chances to show off her versatility, first as the poignant narrator for “Hide and Seek.” She particularly shines in “Spider,” as the title character who reacts to seeing her home ruined by a human who is “too big to wrap up and eat later.” Oswald initially watches the destruction from the sidelines, with a brilliant pantomime before she’s able to tell her side of the story.
“Spider” is also the perfect opportunity to spotlight Bella Rahming’s skills. She’s the human who walks into a spider web and flails about, kicking and screaming in a way that’s somehow both awkward and graceful. Rahming excels in physical comedy but shows a softer side when telling the spiritual story of “Howard.”
Speaking of screaming, there’s no one who can beat Everett Glaze, particularly when it comes to yelling at trees. Glaze brings a fierce, intense energy to all of his roles, which makes him even more effective in quiet, sensitive moments.
