Rats! The Story of the Pied Piper, a musical by Dave and Jean Perry
Featuring
the Gahanna Middle School East Seventh Grade Choir
May 7, 2026
You had me at "a long time ago." - Anonymous
Fairy tales are like reality TV - full of drama, questionable choices, and a lot of magic.
Rats! is all that, but in a most adorable way. It was told like never before - a fast-paced, 35-minute musical with charming seventh grade choir characters singing fun and clever songs and delivering witty dialogue.
Plus, as doting parents and grands were concerned, it featured our Fav Grand/D as one of the show's narrators and chorister.
Why don’t
we let the story, though familiar to most of us, come alive as we listen?
Let the door open to imagination and wonder through the magic of storytelling.
A long time ago… a time before
airplanes and cars and buses and trains…
… a time before TV, CD players, computers, and video games...
there was a quaint little village in a green valley next to a gently flowing river.
Artists came from around the world to
paint pictures of the valley with its river and village because it was so
beautiful.
And the name of the village was Hamlin.
Alas, Hamlin was overrun with rats, and the citizens were in a tizzy…
The Pied Piper: the original influencer, but with a much more rodent-friendly audience. If the Pied Piper had a podcast, it would be all about 'How to Attract Followers... and Mice!'
We know the rest of the story.
The piper led the children away when the townspeople refused to pay.
A lesson to learn: Pay up or else!
But as all
fairy tales end (at least in this play version), all ended well. The children were returned after the villagers paid several times the original payment in
gold.
We love fairy tales.
They express the truth in a way that
speaks to the heart. Rats! teaches us through the Pied Piper that
sometimes, the best way to solve a problem is to just play it by ear.
Though ultimately, life itself is the most
wonderful fairy tale.
THE END
No comments:
Post a Comment