DALLAS TWP. — Characters Billy Bones, Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver took over the stage and held the audience captive during the Dallas Elementary School’s presentation of “Treasure Island” on June, 15.
The elementary school’s the fifth-grade Premiere Band and fourth- and fifth-grade chorus presented their musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story of “Treasure Island” to their classmates Thursday morning and held a separate evening performance for parents and families.
“It is a great way to end the school year,” said Dallas Elementary School Musical Director Harold Hoover. “Everybody is excited and ready to rock.”
The Caribbean vibe was strong in the Dallas Middle School auditorium with fifth-grade Premiere Band members were dressed as pirates and castaways.
Hoover, dressed as a pirate, navigated the student band through a medley of songs selections that included “Fiesta,” “Beethoven’s Ninth,” “Camptown Races” and “America the Beautiful.”
The band’s nearly 30-minute performance ended with Queen’s rock anthem, “We Will Rock You,” which had the audience clapping in rhythm with the band’s percussion section.
A short intermission provided time for the 200-member fourth- and fifth-grade chorus to take to the stage.
When the stage curtains opened, the audience witnessed a conversation between innkeeper Mrs. Hawkins, played by Zoe Hakim; her son, Jim, portrayed by Jack Barr; employees, Molly and Jamie, played by Mary Dahdal and Sophia Farina, all Dallas Elementary School students.
Then, student Jacob Speicher, cast as Captain Billy Bones, entered the inn, dragging a heavy bag. Mrs. Hawkins introduces herself to Bones and then gives Jim, Mary and Jamie instructions to close up the inn for the night.
Jim brings Bones his drink and, in return, Bones pays Jim a few shillings.
The pirate-clad chorus sang, “Pieces of Eight,” painting a picture of what the townspeople would do for eight shillings.
Bones tells Jim about his seafaring adventures, including witnessing countless people walk the plank. In awe of the tales, Jim asked Bones if knew where Flint’s treasure was hidden.
“I’m not going to tell you,” Bones said.
The chorus painted a dreadful image of Captain Flint with a self-titled song, “Captain Flint.”
“The devil was a gentleman compared to Captain Flint,” they sang. “Flint, Flint, the terror of the sea.”
Bones asked Jim to keep an eye open for “a seafaring man with one leg.”
A motley crew of buccaneers entered the Inn and gave Bones a card with a black dot and a message that he will die by 10 p.m.
Bones falls dead as a crew of pirates enters the inn to hound him for information about Captain Flint’s buried treasure.
In the meantime, Jim had opened Bones’ bag and retrieved the treasure map before the pirates rummaged through it.
The pirates carried Bones’ limp body off the stage, creating laughter from the student-filled audience.
The story jumps to when Jim, Molly and Jamie approached the docked Hispaniola and met Captain Smollett, played by Max Bransford.
The trio was hired to work aboard the ship, in disguise, as deck hands while the ship sets out to find the lost treasure.
Aboard the Hispaniola, Jim met Long John Silver, who is the ship’s cook.
Long John Silver explains why he insisted on a supply of barrels of apples on board, which leads to the next chorus selection, “An Apple a Day.”
Jim, Molly and Jamie hid among the apple barrels and overheard Long John Silver plotting a mutiny with other shipmates to steal the treasure.
The chorus burst into song with “Rich, Rich, Rich!”
Jim, Molly and Jamie ran to Captain Smollett with the news of the mutiny.
When the ship reached an island, Captain Smollett told Long John Silver to take some men and go ashore for supplies. Long John Silver took Jim with his crew. Jim escaped from the pirates on the island.
When Captain Smollett and his crew arrivd on the island, after the pirates, they encountered Jim, castaway Ben Gunn and the Pigaloos.
The Pigaloos were island natives who speak pig-Latin.
The grass-skirt wearing Pigaloos sang an introduction song called “We are the Pigaloo Tribe,” which caused one youngster in the audience to laugh out loud every time the word “Pigaloo” was spoken.
The tribe had accepted Gunn as one of its own years before and helped Smollett and his group hunt down the pirates.
Gunn later told Smollett he found Captain Flint’s treasure and moved it. The group then shared the treasure.
