About the Play:

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a full-length comedy adapted by Ernest Zulia based on the best-selling book by Robert Fulghum. In the book, Fulghum lists lessons normally learned in kindergarten and conveys how the world might be improved if grown-ups followed the same principles, among them: play fair, share everything and live a balanced life. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a delightful play that serves as a reminder of the important things in life.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten takes a funny, insightful, heartwarming look at what is profound in everyday life. This tightly woven adaptation has earned standing ovations from Singapore to Prague – from L.A. to D.C. It's an evening of theatrical storytelling in revue format, with monologues, dialogues, and multiple voice narration, enhanced through the use of live piano underscoring, which provides fluidity, charm, and emotional texture, and seven optional original songs. The delightful stories feature colourful characters such as: a shy little boy who insists on playing the "pig" in his class production of Cinderella and steals the show; a man whose dream of flying carries him high over Los Angeles … in a lawn chair buoyed by surplus weather balloons; a "mother of the bride" who's staged a perfect wedding – until the bowling ball of fate rolls down the aisle; and a modern-day Greek philosopher who finds the meaning of life in a piece of broken mirror from World War II. These stories celebrate our very existence, from the whimsy of childhood to the wisdom of old age. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a sure hit for almost any performing group.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten premiered in 1992 at Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia. Conceived and adapted by Ernest Zulia (who directed the original play), it was collaborated on by both Robert Fulghum and composer David Caldwell. Together they brought Fulghum's cautionary tales to light on stage and through music.

Cast: 3 female, 4 male

What people say:

"Heartwarming, charming, funny and touching. The stories are about all of us." — National Public Radio

"A refreshingly intimate combination of theatre and storytelling. Gentle … funny … joyous. Sparks of recognition ignited the audience." — The Chicago Sun-Times

"Eighteen thought-provoking and sniffle-provoking vignettes left the audiences searching for hankies." — The Los Angeles Times

"A lighthearted, beautifully styled dramatization of Fulghum's writings." — Syracuse Herald Journal

About the Playwright:

Ernest Zulia is artistic director and chair of the Hollins University theatre department. He has directed dozens of plays, musicals, operas, and world premieres in regional theatres throughout the United States and internationally. His stage adaptation of Robert Fulghum's international best-selling book All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten has received thousands of productions around the world.

Robert Fulghum is a writer, philosopher, and public speaker, but he has also worked as a cowboy, a folksinger, an IBM salesman, a professional artist, a parish minister, a bartender, and a teacher of drawing and painting. He came to prominence when his first collection, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, stayed on the New York Times bestseller lists for nearly two years. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

David Caldwell is the composer and lyricist of All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. A theatrical music director for over 20 years, he lives in New York and is on the faculty of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.