On my morning walk into Georgetown Day School, I glanced at the poster of our fabulous production of Cinderella, put on by our talented students, faculty and friends. Through the clear glass, this passé poster (the production has already ended) displayed two pumpkins and a mouse. Two pumpkins and a mouse. Hm… Clearly, there is a message still to be learned today from this Golden Age musical. And then it dawned on me. Perhaps there is a message that we still haven’t learned: We need more mice!
The fairy godmother, played by the magnificent junior Sophia Ades, chastises Cinderella, played by graduating senior Olivia Brown, for her disbelief in her songs “Impossible” and “It’s Possible.” As the title of the song suggests, what may seem impossible at first can indeed become possible through our faith. To my many incredulous readers who balk at the idea of too many rodents scurrying around our building, I say to you, “Believe.” By the end of this pivotal moment in the musical, Cinderella sings: “It’s possible for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage! It’s possible for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage!” And, as if the fairy godmother were singing directly to our GDS community, she adds: “And four white mice are easily turned to horses!”
These mice hold incredible capacities to alter our lives for the better. Where is our faith, GDS? It is imperative that we leave our trash strung about the school, for how else are we to attract these magical mice that could change our lives in one momentous and thrilling night? You’ve got a bag of chips? Leave it on the ground. You’ve torn off a piece of plastic from that bag of gummies? Leave it on the ground. And while you’re at it, maybe those little ants could also serve magical purposes for our bright futures.
I am grateful for the wonderful production of Cinderella at GDS, because it could not have arrived at a better moment to remind us that it is up to us to increase our mouse population and dream big!
– High school Spanish teacher Nico Sheets