Courtesy photo

Bobby Kirwin stars in the title role of Johnny Appleseed in Earhart Elementary School's production of Johnny Appleseed: The Musical.

Ms. Janet Buckley's fifth-grade class at Amelia Earhart Elementary School put on a stellar performance of Johnny Appleseed: The Musical last week.

Bobby Kirwin played a convincing and playful Johnny Appleseed, as he daydreamed in class instead of paying attention to his teacher, Miss McIntosh (Priscilla Tu), and visited with a settler family headed by Granny Smith (Amy Liu).

Narration of the play was cleverly performed by a Grandpa (Sean Yamazaki) reading a favorite bedtime story to his grandchildren (Anina Baker, Niles Wyner and Sam Stewart). At the end of the play, as the Grandpa dozed off (or as he said, "I was just resting my eyes,"), the cast brought audience members onto the stage and invited everybody to join them in singing the closing song: "Times and Seasons."

The play ended with beautiful harmony and more than a few tears among adults in the audience, as everyone sang together spreading Johnny Appleseed's message, "'cross the nation, all creation, can live together, peacefully."