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Wonderful World

2005 · Triopia High School, Triopia, Illinois

Wonderful World was the original 2005 spring musical at Triopia High School, written and directed by Ken Bradbury. Like the best of his Triopia shows, it began with a single idea: a man — Theo — who has the crazy, "totally unbelievable, ridiculous, impractical" notion of making a world. He sits at a piano in the dark, and as he sings, a world comes to life around him. A second man, Iam, joins the song; a third, Abaddon, strolls in with a guitar. A man and a woman, Hava and Hadama, dance and play, their children laugh and sing, and the whole wonderful world explodes with the sound of one crazy idea that just might work.

But the world gets crowded, and very, very noisy. In the frenzied "Babble Rabble Rag," the stage floods with dancers in white shirts and red suspenders, jerking puppet-like with dazed, horrific smiles as Creation spins out of control. The problem, Barnaby admits to the audience, was people. By the start of Act II the creator is ready to destroy it all — until his son says, "Send me." Told he is too precious to waste on such people, the son insists, and a bargain is struck: if you can change the heart of one person — one girl — I'll save the world.

In his opening-night notes Bradbury named the show's true subject plainly: the eight million people who would die of poverty before the next year's play, the staggering gap between what the world spends on weapons and pets and what it spends keeping the starving alive. "Don't let them tell you that you'll make no difference," the script sings. "One by one is how it always has begun." Bradbury called it the most important message of any play Triopia had ever staged.

Musical Numbers

Act I

Act II numbers staged in rehearsal included "I'm in Love," "Teddy Bear," "What's It Gonna Take," "Row, Darn You, Row" (the Pike Ladies), "I Dreamed a Dream," "Perfect Family," and the "Wonderful World" Finale.

Cast

The band characters were played by Ryan Hoots (Tuba), Chris Boulanger (Drummer), Matt Snodgrass (Clarinet), Shawn Beck (Stand-up Bass), Sam Hendricker (Banjo), and Joe Heidersheit (Piano), with violins by Megan Burbridge, Ryan Schone, and Rachel Maxwell. Large ensembles filled the Strutters, Babble Rabble dancers, Creation Jazz couples, War dancers, and the "Row, Darn You, Row" Pike Ladies, with the entire cast joining the finale.

Production Notes

Wonderful World was an original work, built scene by scene over a seven-week spring rehearsal period beginning Monday, March 7, 2005. Choreography was led by Stephanie and Melissa; David ran sound; Mrs. Young assisted with vocals; and Mr. West handled staging and lights. As was Triopia tradition, the show was run by students once the lights went up, with Bradbury watching from out front — a point of pride he shared with the cast.

Bradbury's first-rehearsal notes capture the discipline and warmth of his program: grades had to stay up or you lost your part, the Mt. Dew machine was the "official means of communication," and the goal was nothing less than "the best show this part of the world has ever seen." He singled out Nick Jackson for staying two steps ahead of him "like Radar on MAS*H," and reminded everyone that what made Triopia theatre the best anywhere came down to two things: "we pray and we work hard."