Review of “Arizona Way Out West and Wacky: The Play” by Zachary Simpson

Score: 92+/100 (9.2+ out of 10)

Arizona Way Out West and Wacky: The Play is a fun, educational script for a children's play that seeks to inform the audience about the great state of Arizona! The play is based on the book titled Arizona Way Out and Wacky by Conrad J. Storad and Linda Exley.

There are two versions of play:

One for grades 2 and 3

One for grades 4 and up

Both plays generally concern the ringtails/ringtail cats (the State Mammal of Arizona since 1986), how these ringtails helped the miners of the area to ward off rodents, the bizarre way that the capital (Phoenix) was chosen over Prescott, and some other trivia about the state's history.

However, the play for grades 2 and 3 is shorter and less focused on any one specific character (or characters), thus, it isn't necessary for there to be a standout performer in the group (which, believe it or not, tends to be the case with a class of kids). This version of the play usually involves large groups of the kids/performers performing together, particularly the ringtails. This allows for mistakes, errors, and/or forgotten lines to go unnoticed since they can blend into the background and into the group, similar to a choir. It's also less stressful for the kids that way.

This version still features the Saguaro Cactus, Cactus Wren, and Tarantula in a featured role, but they're very brief and don't require much memorization.

To be honest, we would prefer if designations and directions like “Stage Right” (SR) and “Stage Left” (SL) not be used in this specific case because they tend to be confusing for young people. “Right side” or “Left side” might have been simpler and less confusing for kids, although improper in theatrical terms. It's also a little bit of an eyesore to be reading a script and see “S.R. Ringtails” and “S.L. Ringtails.” We also aren't sure if 2nd and 3rd graders are going to get who a “Prospector” is. However, we're assuming that around the time the students are performing this play, they'll be learning about the prospectors who came to the west in search of gold and silver.

“Saguaro Cactus” could just be shortened to “Cactus.” Likewise, “Cactus Wren” could just be shortened to “Wren” or even “Bird.” We know that takes away a little bit from the huge, impressive well of knowledge and information the writer is trying to present, but we're thinking for the sake of young performers. We wouldn't be surprised if the director or parents just crossed out or replaced these things with simpler terms to make them less confusing. Heck, they might even cross out “Tarantula” and just write “Spider.” Thankfully, the writer seemed mindful that the people performing the play would adjust and adapt it as they deemed fit.

Performing on stage is stressful enough without the added confusion or unfamiliarity. However, yes, if the teacher or director staging the play takes extra, special care in educating and guiding the kids, it could still work and be a positive, educational experience.

There's also a version of the play for grades 4 and up, and it's this version of the play that we weighted the most, elevating this book from about an 8.9 or 9.0 to a 9.2+!

The version of the play for grades 4 and up is much more focused on characters and actually has a specific plot.

This plot follows a character named Jo (a unisex name chosen because the performer could be either male or female based on which of your kids is best for the role) as she/he is preparing a report on the state of Arizona for school, presumably at the last minute after procrastinating. That sounds familiar! Many can relate.

Jo is actually from Nebraska and doesn't seem very interested in Arizona, a very different place all the way across the country that seems to have no relevance to Jo's life.

A little frazzled and stressed by the situation, Jo is falling into self-defeating behavior before a miracle comes to their window in the form of two talking Ringtails!

These two Ringtails are named Johnny and Jayne.

Now, we would've preferred if Johnny and Jayne were given different names, and here's why: you don't want three characters to have names that start with the same letter or sound and have similar lengths. It becomes confusing and easier to mix them up. During rehearsals, you may find Johnny and Jayne reading each other's lines by mistake.

Whoever adapts this play could probably change their names to something like Bradley and Ronda or Kevin and Sara.

You don't really want Jo, Johnny, Jayne occurring on the same page in close proximity to one another (if you can help it).

Anyway, while the previous version of the play was less character focused and more focused on presenting history/trivia/information, this version of the play is much more character focused while still presenting the same history/trivia/information (if not more).

This play shines in two key areas: the information itself and the humor.

This play is both educational and entertaining!

In terms of being educational, we learned a lot! Even though some of us have lived in Arizona or have gone on trips there specifically to learn about conservation, we still learned things from this play!

Here's some trivia we picked up on:

- Ringtail Cats aren't actually cats (ok, we kinda knew this), they're more closely related to raccoons, which explains their raccoon-like appearance. They were nicknamed “Ringtail Cats”after being adopted as pets by miners after they proved capable of chasing away rodents and protecting the miners' foods. This is actually portrayed in both the 2nd/3rd grade version and the 4th grade and up version of the play. However, this also brings up a minor complaint about the 2nd/3rd grade version as we're shown a Ringtail chasing away a rodent, yet we aren't given much of an explanation for what was happening in that scene. We think the audience will just laugh and get distracted by the big “BOO!” in that scene without understanding why it happened. At least in the 4th grade and up version, the animals explain to Jo why it was so important for the Ringtails to scare the rodents away.

- We learned the strange way in which Phoenix was voted the capital of Arizona over Prescott, the original capital. It turns out that one of the people who was voting had a glass eye that accidentally got drunken down by her partner. Self-conscious to leave the home without her glass eye, she refused to vote, thus leading to Phoenix winning.

- We learned that Arizona's state flag was actually made by a Colonel Charles Wilfred Harrison after he saw that his Arizona regiment was the only one without an emblem during a rifle competition in Ohio. The “Liberty Blue” at the bottom of the flag reflects the national flag. The sun rays at the bottom represent the year-round sunshine the state gets. Lastly, the star in the middle is copper-colored since Arizona was the leading copper producer in the United States.

- We learned that Arizona got involved in the Spanish-American War as a way to prove itself and its allegiance, eventually seeking to gain its statehood.

- We learned that the Cactus Wren is the state bird

- We learned that Arizona is the sixth most populated state in the USA

- We learned that Arizona is divided into three regions: plateau, mountains, and desert.

- The cactai can grow 50 feet tall and be 200 years old! We definitely noticed these behemoths when we were there.

- We heard more about the indigenous people and their petroglyphs. This was actually one of our main reasons for visiting Arizona in previous years. It's fascinating to think that a lot of these petroglyphs are still without interpretations or translations!

- We learned that animals like tarantulas live in the cactuses

- We learned that the Grand Canyon is 6,000 feet deep. The writer actually does a very good job at giving younger audiences a perspective on how deep that is. They point to the average height of a teacher and say that it would take 1,125 teachers stacked together to be just as tall as the canyon is deep! Kids often need concrete, tangible examples like this to help them understand information that's so big and grand.

Beside from being educational, it's also entertaining, especially when it comes to humor! It's very funny at times, albeit more so for adults (especially Boomers) who'll get the somewhat-aged inside jokes and references.

For example, the roadrunner is asked if he'll say “Meep-Meep” but replies, “Legally? No.”

Lynda Carter (the original Wonder Woman) is referenced as one of the famous Arizonans, and the younger viewers expect Gal Gadot.

Fleetwood Mac is also referenced as one of the famous Arizonans. The narration even says that Fleetwood Mac is a little before the time of the young audience but to ask their parents about them.

As a point of interest, Emma Stone and Jo Jonas are also referenced as famous Arizonans.

Not every joke or gimmick lands. For example, there's a strangely-ubiquitouos scene in both versions of the play in which a Phantom of the Opera tries to play the organ but pricks their finger on a cactus. While amusing and attention-getting, we're still at a loss for why this scene or this character are in this play. It just seems random. Well, at least it gives another performer a role to play.

A lot of the humor does land, especially when it breaks the fourth wall and becomes meta. For example, there's a scene in which a tortoise is moving across the stage and the narration hurries it along because the play needs to transition to the next scene.

There's another scene in which the animals basically point out the absurdity of Jo learning from two talking Ringtails instead of just going on the internet and doing research there. They tell him he would have no other way of learning otherwise:

“If you ever want to chat about Arizona again, all you have to do is get assigned a school report
about Arizona and have your power go out suddenly, and have no way of learning about the state otherwise.”

That might've been our favorite part of the book.

It's the self-aware humor that did it for us.

This plot as a whole really reminded us of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In fact, the setup is pretty much identical.

We know we praised the educational and entertainment value of this play, especially the self-aware humor, but we also wanted to praise one other aspect: the costume design. This book provides a load of helpful information and instructions on how to put together the play from a costume design perspective, everything from putting googly eyes on the head of the Tarantula to constructing binoculars out of two empty toilet paper rolls.

It really seems like the writer has thought of everything! They even note that the Tarantula is the hardest costume to take on and off, so the actor should play the fewest other roles (if any). They also talk about times when the teacher/director can participate in guiding the performers on or off the stage, or when they should come on and off the stage.

Maybe your students could enjoy performing and learning from this play!

Check it out on Amazon!