Finale

Today was a momentous day, and I’ve decided that the only blog format appropriate enough for the importance of today is to write about today as if it were a musical, complete with musical numbers (identified by italics) .

Act I

The curtain opens on a 16 year old girl. She gets out of bed in a dorm room and bursts into One Last Visit to the Gym, an upbeat but bittersweet ballad complete with a cardio kickboxing dance sequence. Following this number, the very sweaty girl exits the stage and the scene shifts to the dining hall set.

In a short musical number, the Developmental Psychology class ensemble sings End of Class, a melodic tune that shifts from the dining hall to the classroom, where a buffet of fruit and donuts await. The ensemble shares a solemn moment as they settle into their seats and fully realize this is their last class together.

The ensemble then breaks into smaller groups and performs four separate musical numbers in rapid succession: Lies and Cookies, Sharing is Caring, Caregiver and Child, and Gender Preferences. These musical numbers show the presentations of each project the Developmental Psych students have been working on.

In End of Class: Reprise, the Developmental Psychology ensemble goes to lunch together at a local bakery/cafe, Medici’s. Interwoven with this is number is It Was On Sale, the 16 year old girl’s solo about buying a book from the book store next to Medici’s. The girl dances out of the bookstore with her book to meet the other Developmental Psych students. The students reminisce about their class while eating lunch, then say good byes. The curtain closes as they start to part ways.

Act II

The curtain opens on the 16 year old girl and some friends. They sing Last Day for Adventuring on the Bus/Red Line stage set, as the scenery outside shifts through various Chicago neighborhoods. The friends exit the public transportation at their destination, Lincoln Park. The walk around the streets until they arrive at the beach. The North Avenue Beach stage set consists of a long expanse of sand overlooking bright, blue Lake Michigan. The friends break into Beautiful Day for the Beach, an active number in which they swim, play volleyball, and bury themselves in sand. Following this number is an instrumental interlude as the sun begins to lower in the sky and the friends sit on the beach relaxing. The next number is Final Supper, a serious number in which the friends migrate from the beach to the Hub51 restaurant stage set, where they share an excellent meal. Through the song, the friends remark how they can’t believe their time together is over. The friends then return towards the dorms, each lost in thought about what they’ve experienced and how strange it is that it’s finished. The final number is Ready for Home. The 16 year old girl is back in the dorm room set, and she sings a solo about how she’s ready to return to all the things she misses at home, but how she’s not ready to leave this place she’s come to know as home. Throughout the number, a whirlwind of clothes and other stuff are thrown into a giant suitcase. At the close of the show, she zips the suitcase shut and crawls into bed. The stage goes dark and the curtain closes.

Apologies, I don’t think that was exactly proper synopsis format for a musical but I hope it gives you an idea of the marvelous last full day I spent in Chicago. It’s been a long day and we have a very important journey tomorrow, so I think it's time to shut the computer, zip up the suitcase, crawl into bed and let the stage go dark.