Synopsis
Sunshine
Jennifer Draganski & Sean Hartley & John O'Neill from Ludwig Bemelmans
Published by Dramatic Publishing
Large Mixed Cast
This tells the story of a grumpy landlord, Mr Sunshine, who wants nothing but peace and quiet in his brownstone in Gramercy Park, New York
When he meets Miss Moore, a sweet and slightly daffy older woman, he thinks he has found a perfect tenant, and he immediately signs her to a five-year lease
But the next day, Mr Sunshine discovers that Miss Moore intends to run a music school in her apartment
Enraged, he tries to evict her, but the imperturbable Miss Moore is so dedicated to sharing the joys of music with her students that she barely notices his displeasure and resists all attempts to be moved
However, after hearing a radio weather forecast calling for rain, Miss Moore attends a public auction, where she unwittingly bids the rent money on a lot of 500 umbrellas
She is now unable to pay the rent and Mr Sunshine plans to evict her and the school
But the resourceful students take matters into their own hands ...
The ensemble of children has several stirring musical numbers, including the contrapuntal "The Rain Song" (in which they sell the umbrellas), "The Auction" (sung with the auctioneer), "Get Out Your Parasol" (sung with Max Marvel, the weather man, in a '40s-style fantasy sequence), and Miss Moore's theme song about the joys of music - "Make a Joyful Noise"
CAST: M2, F1 & 12+ Children
Runs about 50 mins