THE STORY BEGINS WITH Cassandra singing Not So Ordinary. She is a beautiful, creative, happy little girl and our champion right from the start. She has a gift for seeing the extraordinary in what appears to be ordinary.

At Cassandra’s house, her mother is home, lamenting about her busy life, keeping in mind the reason she does it all as she sings All of the Gold. Just as she finishes singing, she enters into Cassandra’s very messy room. She scolds her little girl and then feels badly for being so harsh. She sings Mom’s Reflection.

While her Mother is present, we see what appears to be a disheveled room. But when Mom leaves, Cassandra’s stuffed animals come to life and are part of a fascinating, functioning zoo. She sings Me, Myself and I with delight as the animals help her to clean up her room.

After her room is clean, Cassandra goes out to the yard. There, she is met by some children who tell her that she is too different to play with them as they sing Too Bad. Cassandra walks away and the leader of the group separates himself from the others. He sings Kid’s Reflection, thinking back to a time when he was the one not included.

The next day at school, Cassandra’s teacher, Mr. McQuaint, gets ready for his students to arrive. He sings More Like Me as he daydreams of a world with perfect children.

After the children are seated, Mr. McQuaint tells the class to “paint a small house and a tree, with seven red flowers and one yellow bee.” Cassandra tries very hard to follow directions and be just like the rest of the children, but with the Little Boy in the Moon encouraging her to use her imagination, Cassandra has soon painted a tree that reaches up to the stars. As she paints, she sings a duet, Once I Let Go, with the Little Boy in the Moon, about believing in your dreams and creating with your heart.

As the song ends, we hear Mr. McQuaint’s voice from below yelling for Cassandra to “STOP!” The entire picture collapses into a pile on the floor. While cleaning up the big mess of leaves and paint, Cassandra picks up some of the stars that have also fallen. She puts them in her pocket before being sent from the classroom. As Mr. McQuaint watches her leave, he thinks back to a time when his imagination was as strong as Cassandra’s. He sings Mr. McQuaint’s Reflection.

Looking for help, Cassandra ventures into the Mayor’s office. Here, we meet Miss Iva Stress, “with her big purple shoes and her big purple dress.” A little unsure of herself, Iva uses her big clothes and her big position to puff herself up and feel important. The Mayor is a small-minded man in a big position. They explain to Cassandra that they are much too important and busy to help her as they sing No Time For You.

Lost and “waiting for a sign,” Iva Stress sings Iva’s Reflection, cautioning Cassandra that “ordinary is far less scary” and that she would do well to “just fall in line.”

Finding no one around to help, Cassandra runs to a quiet spot by the lake. She goes to “the rock,” and she sits “all alone.” She cries in this enchanted place and knows that she must make a decision. She will either become who “they” say she must be…and disappear, or she will become who she knows that she is and live a “Not So Ordinary” life. She sings Why Can’t it Be? and realizes that she has all the answers that she is looking for.

Finding the truth deep inside, Cassandra stands to go home. She turns and sees her magnificent tree. “And under her tree sitting there on the ground…is a beautiful Angel with wings and a crown.” The Angel sings Shine, reminding Cassandra that “she has the stars in her pocket” and that she is, in fact, a bright light here to shine for the world.

Remembering her own light, Cassandra returns to the other characters in the story and reminds them all that everyone is Somebody’s Angel.

With stars in hand, all the characters join together with Cassandra and The Angel and sing Shine Reprise, inviting everybody “to shine!”

Cassandra's Angel ~ the musical. © 2002-2010, Gina Otto. All rights reserved.