Swirl

Swirl is a delightful musical about two groups of school kids on the fictional Caribbean island of Realla (pronounced Ree all ya!) competing in a battle of bands. Along the way they confront the challenges of bullying behavior, jealousy, envy, social resentment, and the quest for acceptance. They learn the importance of education, imagining a dream to pursue, seeing commonalities between people, acknowledging and valuing diversity. Swirl is based on Lenny Rountree's illustrated storybook "The Notable Characters," which is available as an audiobook here: https://www.washentree.com/cd-gainful-enjoyment/the-notable-characters-audiobook

The Notable Characters consist of their fearless three-eyed leader, Wholesome, as well as Qwater, Eighty-Eight, and Dutch who are immigrants to Realla from New Orleans, Jamaica, and the Netherlands respectively. Then there is their super, cart-wheeling, speed-reading youngest member, Suite Sixteen. The Notables use their mid-day break from school to set up their instruments in Poplar Park to entertain themselves and whoever is around, including mongoose, butterflies, and city workers. One of the show's highlights include the Notables performing "Noise Will Be Noise."

The Notables are challenged by the Rest siblings: four sisters, and their little brother named Un Rest. They also play music, but because they often stop in the middle of their songs, to rest, they are not as beloved. There is growing friction between the two groups. The Rests are particularly territorial when it comes to the Notables. The Rest siblings are led by Wholelotta Rest, who sings and plays the keyboard. Her siblings are; Arma, who wears a helmet over her pig tails and plays the electric bass, the lackadaisical Halfheart on electric guitar, the dainty Footsy on drums, and the aforementioned, tantrum-prone first grader, Un, master of the auto harp. Highlights of the show include the Rests performing "Bully Bully" and "Doing the Rest Stop." Fate leads the two distinct groups into a turf war, competition for fans, and ultimately a battle of the bands, where the magic of the performing arts inspire strange and surprising outcomes. Listen to the Notable's theme song "We Had Our Nap We Had Our Meal and Now We Feel Okay" by clicking the play arrow below. All of the show's music has been composed, arranged, performed and produced by Lenny Rountree.