In
6th grade, we were to put on a play. It was a
spur of the moment idea, nobody really had any idea of what kind of play we could do. Much brainstorming ensued, and we finally came up with an idea:
Space Jam: Rocking Through Time
The movie had been out for a few months at that point, we were 6th graders, we liked it. The basic plot was to be that the Looney Tunes characters were to bring Michael Jordan through time, to teach him all about music.
The play started out on an odd note, with Michael playing basketball, while the hit song I Believe I Can Fly was played. The problem, however, was that we never could find a hoop to bring inside to use as a prop. So, he threw the basketball in the air, let it bounce a few times, then grabbed it and did it again and again until the song was over.
Then out of nowhere comes the Looney Tunes characters! They all come in talking about the great new CD they bought, as it has music from all different times in America. Michael doesn't believe this, refuting their claims that music in the past was good at all. Well, do they have a surprise for him! They decide to bring him through time, to show him all about the great music of the past and present.
They first decide to go to the 20's, and some annoying girls come out and do the Charleston. An annoying song coupled with a kind of stupid looking dance. It was alright, but Michael wasn't convinced yet. While he kind of liked the Charleston, he needed more proof of the great music that lies in the past.
We moved on to the 30's and 40's, but seeing as how this was 6 years ago, I'm lucky to remember what I do. In other words, I can't remember at all what music we did for the 30's and 40's.
So for the 50's, we had this kind of chubby kid as Elvis. He actually made a decent Elvis. So Elvis comes out, and we have every annoying girl in the play run down to the stage and scream because it's Elvis, right? Man, there were a lot of annoying girls in my 6th grade class. Michael still could not be convinced, however. But he was really starting to like this music!
The rest went by somewhat uneventfully, except that in the 60's segment, I got to be one of The Beatles. So of course, that was my favorite part of this whole thing. For the 70's segment, we had some stupid disco thing, with some annoying girl playing John Travolta or something. I can't be bothered to remember things like that. For the 80's, we had this one crazy friend of mine playing Michael Jackson. Really, his dance kind of made him look like he was having a seizure, except that he could actually do a decent moonwalk.
The best (and craziest) part of all came last, however. For the 90's, we had some kids lipsynching to rap music. B Real, Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man, with their hit compilation song, "Hit 'Em High". We only had four people willing to do this part, though, so we left out B Real, because nobody really knew who he was. So we had two shy white girls and two semi-shy white boys playing as four black rappers. They walked about the stage and raised the roof. It was truly a highlight of my life to see this.
At the end, Michael was finally convinced about the great musicians of our past and present. So, he hosted a dance party to the Space Jam theme song. The characters all formed two lines, one on each side of the stage. They then took turns going into the middle of the stage and doing a dance. 6th graders are not good dancers.
I think this play scarred me for life. Even six years later, I can still sing the entire theme song by memory.