When searching for something else entirely, YouTube chose to offer me this instead. It wasn't what I was looking for, but I watched it nevertheless; I was curious.
Written by Jessica Penzias (book), Dave Hudson (lyrics), and Denver Casado (music), this is a musical of our time. Written only earlier this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the closing of theatres, this must be the first ever musical written specifically for rehearsal and performance online. Not only that but it is only just over 30 minutes long, and is written specifically for young people to perform. So far so good.
In the production of this musical which I stumbled upon (apparently there are others too) I watched The Rockland Youth Theatre Company - a group of youngsters predominently taken from their junior section since most of the children were of primary school age, with just a couple of teenagers adding to the mix - who are based in Rockland County, New York.
The Musical opens with a speech from their teacher (one of the young cast) who is very bad with technology but introduces us to the premise of the show, and actually has the most to do, despite not getting a song. One by one the characters are introduced as this group were due to perform the Musical, "Brushes Of Greatness: The Dental Hygiene Musical", but since they were unable to do so, they turn to each other (in character) and so starts the somewhat comical adventure with these youths desperately trying to keep their annual production going, whilst - in character - acknowledging that the teeth have a drastic plaque problem, as Plaque tries to take over the Mouth, and they need to work together in order to defeat Plaque and bring the Mouth back to its full state of cleanliness again.
The Musical therefore has characters such as 'Tommy Tooth', 'Flossie' and of course 'Plaque', but all the time, they are just the children because all they are trying to do is make sure the show goes on (online).
The funniest moment - for me at least - was the brilliant little parody of 'Wicked!' when one young girl sings about 'Defying Cavaties!'. However, the songs and storyline are ideal for such an age group, and with youngsters feeling the strain of lockdowns and isolation just as much as us adults, it is a wonderful idea and perfect outlet for them to become involved in. The finale title song truly resonates in this weird and uncertain time, although lets hope that sooner rather than later, this sentiment becomes one from history, and we'll all be back in theatres again soon.
Congratulations to all the young cast involved in this show. Well done and thank you for sharing it with the world!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 13/10/20
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