This production is from the Denver School of the Arts. It is a collection of fourteen scenes, written and presented by the students themselves based on their own experiences of childhood and adolescence. Although each scene is complete in itself and there is no overall narrative, they combine effectively to form a picture of life in America.
Different topics are covered in each scene. In one, children learn through play and imagination. In another, girls discover that fairy stories of beautiful princesses marrying handsome princes do not always come true. In Friends Are Forever, we see how intense, but fragile, friendships can be for children and adolescents. In God We Trust looks at religion in America, and how the separation of church and state decreed by its founders no longer really exists. In Just Be A Man, we see an isolated gay man in a small town, unable to tell anyone about his sexuality and another who feels that he is just a puppet controlled by his father. The funniest scene is probably Puberty The Musical, where the students sing about growing breasts, pubic hair and body odour.
Of course, for most young Americans, the attack on the World Trade Center is a defining part of their childhood, and this is also covered, with moving statements about the feelings they experienced on that day and the way that their lives have been changed.
The show finishes with all the cast on stage holding banners Fat, Blind, Beautiful, Proud etc. and the message is We Are Defining America. An interesting show from a different perspective.
