2014 — Escape From Trash Mountain: the Junk Rock Revolution


This play was about recycling. It featured a punk rock band who makes all of its own instruments at the garbage dump, where they meet a new friend and discover the importance (and fun!) of recycling.

Eve and Wall-E welcome the audience to "Escape from Trash Mountain." It takes place in the future, when Somerville has turned pollution gray and trash lines the city streets. Kids in the city are bored - there is nothing to do! No one recycles any more, and the kids have been told never to go near Trash Mountain. But curiosity takes them to Trash Mountain where they discover a strange creature - Oscar the Grouch. Oscar is happy to live on Trash Mountain and sings his favorite song, "I Love Trash!" The kids make musical instruments from recycled trash. They start the Junk Rock Band so that they can spread the word about recycling. But Oscar the Grouch doesn't want to recycle: they might take away Trash Mountain! When they hear the Junk Rock Band, the people of Somerville think recycling is a great idea, too. And they sing a song about recycling: R-E-C-Y-C-L-E. Even Oscar tries recycling... He loves it - because it's trash, of course - and he is put in charge of recycling at Trash Mountain. The Junk Rock Band goes on a world tour, and Somerville is green once more as Eve and Wall-E bid us farewell. Recycled instrument making workshop at Beautiful Stuff in Somerville. A guitar Drums The cast at work designing new instruments.

Play Synopsis:

Scene 1: Join Wall-E and EVE as they remember the story of Trash Mountain. It's garbage day in 2014 (a long, long time ago....) and everyone's throwing away everything! Oh, no!

SONG: "It's OK, Throw It Away!"

Scene 2: It's back to the future, and our fair city is a dirty mess. Kids don't have anywhere to play or anything to do. What will their game of truth or dare lead them to do?

Scene 3: ....to go to Trash Mountain, where everyone's garbage has been piling up for years. But is it truly a toxic dump or a place to let your imagination run wild! The kids meet a crazy old guy and get inspired to do something truly wild and creative.

SONG: "I Love Trash!"

Scene 4: The kids form the Junk Rock Band and begin to rehearse their songs with instruments made out of recycled junk! Oscar the Grouch admits he's scared of recycling, because it will take away his beloved trash.

SONG: "I Love to Recycle!"

Scene 5: The Junk Rock Band writes new songs and gets ready to take their message of recycling to audiences around the world.

SONG: "R-E-C-Y-C-L-E!"

Scene 6: When the Junk Rock Band's message spreads throughout the town, suddenly recycling is cool again. The townspeople give them a special award for helping to clean up the town. Oscar gets his own Funky Junk Recycling Center filled with great stuff. And, best of all, the band gets a record contract. Trash Mountain wasn't so bad after all (once they cleaned it up!)

SONG: "It Wasn't OK"

Song Lyrics:

"It's OK, Throw It Away"
(Music & Lyrics H. McCormack)

Bread's gone stale? Throw it away!
Dent in the pail? Throw it away!
Water bottle empty? Throw it away?
We've got plenty, it's OK! Just throw it, throw it, throw it away!

If it's not perfect, don't even try!
Just buy another one - it's $1.99.
It all goes away so it's probably fine - just wave to those nice trash guys. Hey!

Sneakers don't fit? Throw them away!
Brother won't quit? Throw him away! (JK!)
Phone got a crack? Throw it away!
Pu it on Trash Mountain where all of it stays - It's OK, just throw it away!

Hey, hey! Throw it away!
We'll worry about it another day.
Hey, hey, whaddya say?
Don't think twice just throw it away.
It's OK, just throw it away!

"I Love Trash"
(Music & Lyrics Jeff Moss)

I love trash - anything dirty or dingy or dusty - anything ragged or rotten or rusty.
Oh, I love trash!
I have here a sneaker that's tattered and torn. It's all full of holes and the laces are worn. A gift from my mother the day I was born. I love it because it's trash!

"R-E-C-Y-C-L-E"
(Music Aretha Franklin / Lyrics Liza Kitchell)

Oo! Oo! That's not trash - 'cause I can use it!
Oo! Oo! That's not trash - I'll reuse it!
All I want you to do is GIVE IT TO ME!
Re, re, re, re, re, re - RECYCLE just a little bit, etc.

Give me your cans and bottles.
Give me your papers, too.
All I want you to do is GIVE IT TO ME!
Re, re, re, re, re, re - RECYCLE just a little bit, etc.

R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, find out what it means to me.
R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, you can do it easily!
Sock it to me, etc.

Wild Tales is funded by a grant from the Somerville Arts Council