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CTC Family Guide 
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse 
A detailed description of the play, including things to do and think about, for parents to share with their families.
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A Synopsis of the Story
On a beautiful summer day two young mice, Chester and Wilson, are having a picnic. Anyone can see that they are very best friends. Then Lilly bursts into their lives and turns their world inside out - or more specifically backwards - with her secret language. She proclaims herself a queen who likes everything, and indeed her eccentric exuberance declares itself in an irresistible personality. Lilly can't wait to have a baby brother, or to be something fabulous when she grows up - an opera diva, a surgeon, an ambulance driver, or a hairdresser, to name a few of the possibilities. In all honesty, Lilly can't wait for anything, she is too alive!
Lilly, Chester, and Wilson call themselves three peas in a pod. When Lilly's baby brother, Julius, is born, she decides he is disgusting, not the Baby of the World her mother and father make him out to be. She calls him a raisin (she thinks raisins taste like dirt!), pinches him - and gets sent to the Uncooperative Chair for ten minutes. She has a vivid fantasy, in which she rides a giant dragon-cat in pursuit of a terrified Julius.
Lilly loves school with all her heart, especially her new teacher, Mr. Slinger. He has a Light Bulb Lab in the classroom where a mouse can go "if something is troubling you or wants to burst out." It's one powerful place. Over a weekend, Grammy takes Lilly shopping and buys her a purple plastic purse that plays music when it opens, and a pair of Optu du Soleil (sunglasses) to match. She adds three jingly quarters, and Lilly is euphoric. Once again she loses herself in fantasies:  Because of her new purse she is worshipped as queen, people are insanely jealous, she is a hero, and her mother and father promise to launch Julius off into space! When she comes back to reality, the reactions of people are not at all what she imagined. She takes her purse to school with her, and when she can wait no longer and interrupts class to show off her purse, Mr. Slinger takes it away from her for the day. He also sends Lilly to the Light Bulb Lab. She draws a horrible picture of the teacher she no longer adores, and sticks it in his book bag. When she gets her purse back at the end of the day, it holds a thoughtful note from Mr. Slinger: "Today was difficult. Tomorrow will be better." She thinks about the picture she left in his bag and feels totally crummy.
All evening long she lives with the regret she feels. The next day she delivers an apology to Mr. Slinger, along with some of her father's delicious No Frills Cheese Balls. Mr. Slinger says, "Wow," and all is well. Until...she gets home and finds her cousin, Garland, insulting Julius. Lilly immediately sticks up for him and discovers that she really loves the "little lump" after all. She declares him Baby of the World, in fact, and Lilly, Chester, Wilson, and Julius become the FOUR peas in a pod!
Suddenly a new figure appears to declare himself king. Lilly says, "Wow," and, for the four - make that five - friends, the world rearranges all over again.
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| Lilly's father makes his special No-Frills Cheese Balls as a peace offering for Mr. Slinger. Here is a recipe you can make together. It is a very good way to keep friends - or to make new ones. |
| AS YOU GET READY TO SEE THE SHOW |
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 Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is adapted from three books: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse; Julius, The Baby Of The World; and Chester's Way, by Kevin Henkes. To be familiar with all the elements of the plot in the play, read all three before you come! Of course, Lilly is played by a young girl, not a mouse, so, except for the fact that they dress a lot alike, know that she will not look a bit like the Lilly in the book.
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse contains music that is very hard to sit still to. Be prepared to boogie in your seats. Very young children may want to know in advance that it will get dark before the play and between scenes - don't worry...we're just changing the sets. Also, it's good to be prepared for a lot of exciting - and sometimes very BIG - sounds.
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| WHEN YOU SEE THE SHOW |
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Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is about friendship - an intensly powerful relationship. Watch to see how a mouse's (or a person's) choice of friends determines what they do and become.
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse is about a mouse who doesn't always do things right. She doesn't always like the way she behaves and she often has to fix things later. It's important to notice that even heros/heroines make mistakes. The thing to admire is how they proceed from there.
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