BIOMES

KINGSNAKE
Freeze! Here comes the zoo keeper!

ZOO KEEPER
(after looking around the stage, to audience)
Some animals have escaped from the zoo!
Keep your eye out. They’re very good at
hiding—especially that elephant.
THE RIGHT BIOME
 ONCE THERE WERE SOME CRITTERS
SO TIRED OF THE ZOO
THEY WANT BACK TO NATURE
BUT DO NOT HAVE A CLUE.

WHAT HABITAT WOULD SUIT THEM?

WHAT SPOT WOULD BE THEIR NICHE?
WHAT COULD THEY ADAPT TO?
WHAT PLACE WOULD SCRATCH THEIR ITCH?
 SO ONE DARK NIGHT
THEY ALL TOOK FLIGHT
TO FIND A BRAND NEW HOME
WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED
THEY’RE ON A QUEST
TO FIND THE RIGHT BIOME.
 BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
THEY’LL SEARCH DAY AND NIGHT

BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
WE HOPE THEY CAN SIGHT THE
RIGHT BIOME.
 IT COULD BE A DESERT
THAT’S HOT AND VERY DRY
IT COULD BE A GRASSLAND
WITH GRASS THAT’S FOUR FEET HIGH.

IT COULD BE FRESH WATER

IN WHICH YOU’D LIKE TO JUMP
IT COULD BE A FOREST
AS LONG AS IT’S NOT GUMP.
 YEAH IT COULD BE
SOME SALTY SEA
THERE’S LOTS OF LIFE IN THERE
THEY MAY GO FORTH
FAR TO THE NORTH
TO TUNDRA COLD AND BARE.
 BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
THEY’LL SEARCH DAY AND NIGHT

BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
WE HOPE THEY CAN SIGHT THE RIGHT BIOME.

THE RIGHT BIOME.

THE RIGHT BIOME.
 BEETLE
Great job knocking over that fence, Elephant.

ELEPHANT
I did that?

KINGSNAKE
I thought elephants never forget.

ELEPHANT
Oh yeah. I forgot.

KINGSNAKE
Okay, Beetle, what do we do now?

BEETLE
I don’t know, Kingsnake. I guess we just settle down. Maybe buy a condo.
 LEOPARD GECKO #1
You can’t do that!

ELEPHANT
Who are you?

LEOPARD GECKO #2
We’re Leopard Geckos.

LEOPARD GECKO #1
We escaped with you. Remember?

ELEPHANT
We ESCAPED?

KINGSNAKE
(to GECKO)
What do you mean, we can’t settle down here?
 LEOPARD GECKO #3
You have to nd your right biome.

BEETLE
Biome?

LEOPARD GECKO #3
Sure! The right habitat for your species— what you’re adapted to.

LEOPARD GECKO #2
Take us Geckos. We’re adapted to the deserts of central Asia.

LEOPARD GECKO #1
And we’ve adapted a great way to escape desert predators!

LEOPARD GECKO #2
When someone grabs our tail, it falls right o so we can escape. Then it grows back later!

LEOPARD GECKO #3
You need to nd the right biome for each of you.
fi
fi
ff
GO FIND YOUR PLACE
 GO FIND YOUR
GO FIND YOUR
FIND YOUR PLACE.

ANIMALS AND PLANTS ADAPT

GO FIND YOUR PLACE
IF THEY DON’T THEN THEY GET ZAPPED
GO FIND YOUR PLACE.
CAMELS CAN DRINK ONCE A WEEK
BECAUSE IT’S DRY
PUT A PENGUIN IN THEIR PLACE

AND KISS THAT BIRD GOODBYE.

 KISS THAT BIRD GOODBYE.
GO FIND YOUR
GO FIND YOUR
FIND YOUR PLACE.

YOU AND WHERE YOU LIVE ARE LINKED

GO FIND YOUR PLACE
EITHER THAT OR GO EXTINCT
GO FIND YOUR PLACE.
ARCTIC FOXES’ FUR TURNS WHITE
TO MATCH THE SNOW
PUT THEM ON THE FOREST FLOOR

AND SUDDENLY THEY GLOW.

SUDDENLY THEY GLOW.
GO FIND YOUR
GO FIND YOUR
FIND YOUR PLACE.

GO FIND YOUR
GO FIND YOUR
FIND YOUR PLACE.
 KINGSNAKE
We’d better get moving.

ELEPHANT
Where are we going?

KINGSNAKE
You heard the Gecko.

ELEPHANT
We’re buying insurance?

BEETLE
Come on. The ocean is right over there. Maybe that’s where we belong.
 (STARFISH enter. THE TRIO see the STARFISH.)

BEETLE
Hey, look in that tide pool. Who are you?

STARFISH #1
We’re star sh, also called sea stars.

STARFISH #2
We live in the marine biome.

STARFISH #3
It’s the largest ecosystem.

KINGSNAKE
You think any of US belong here?
fi
 (STARFISH look them over very carefully.)

STARFISH #1
I don’t think so. At least not here in the tide pool.

STARFISH #2
But the ocean has a lot of di erent zones— estuaries, the
open sea, the deep ocean.

STARFISH #3
There’s a lot of strange stu out there—we’re sticking
right here, close to shore.
ff
ff
CLOSE TO SHORE
‘CAUSE OUT IN THESE WATERS
THERE’RE FLOATING SEA OTTERS
THE WHALE AND DOLPHIN AND SHARK

AND DEEP IN THE OCEAN

THERE’RE WEIRD THINGS IN MOTION
AND CREATURES THAT GLOW IN THE
DARK.
IT’S NASTY, OH BROTHER
THEY’RE EATING EACH OTHER!
AND THERE ISN’T ONE WITHOUT
SCARS.

OUR TIDE POOL’S NOT TAXING

WE SIT HERE RELAXING
WHERE STARFISH ARE ALWAYS THE
STARS.
CLOSE TO SHORE
CLOSE TO SHORE
STUCK RIGHT HERE
EVERMORE

IN THIS TIDE POOL

WE’RE NOBODY’S FOOL
CLOSE TO SHORE.
IT’S NASTY, OH BROTHER
THEY’RE EATING EACH OTHER!
AND THERE ISN’T ONE WITHOUT
SCARS.

OUR TIDE POOL’S NOT TAXING

WE SIT HERE RELAXING
WHERE STARFISH ARE ALWAYS THE
STARS.
CLOSE TO SHORE
CLOSE TO SHORE
STUCK RIGHT HERE
EVERMORE

IN THIS TIDE POOL

WE’RE NOBODY’S FOOL
CLOSE TO SHORE.
 KINGSNAKE
Come on. Let’s go this way.

(THE TRIO trudge across stage.)

BEETLE
Who made YOU our leader?

KINGSNAKE
I’m a KING snake. That makes me the king.

ELEPHANT
Does that make me a princess?

BEETLE
NO! You are an ELEPHANT.

ELEPHANT
But I feel so pretty.
 KINGSNAKE
Does it seem hot to you guys?

(Three MACAWS enter)

MACAW #1
Of COURSE it’s hot.

MACAW #2
This is a tropical rainforest.

MACAW #3
We’re Macaws.

BEETLE
You look like parrots.
 MACAW #1
We are! We’re one of hundreds of di erent kinds of parrots.

MACAW #2
Rainforests are home to more than half of all living plant and animal
species.

KINGSNAKE
I’m not sure I’m cut out for all this heat and rain.

MACAW #3
Maybe you belong in a di erent kind of forest.

MACAW #2
A third of the land is covered with trees.
ff
ff
FORRESTS
DECIDUOUS WHERE THE LEAVES ALL FALL
THERE’S EVERGREEN WHERE THEY DON’T AT ALL.
AND TROPICAL THAT’S SO HOT AND WET
GORILLAS THERE SIT AROUND AND SWEAT.

CONIFEROUS MEANS THEY’RE FILLED WITH CONES

SO MANY FORESTS IN SO MANY ZONES.
BUT STILL IT’S TRUE SO YOU MUST ACT FAST
THEY’RE DISAPPEARING AND MAY NOT LAST.

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP BOP.
 ALL
FORESTS, ONE THIRD OF THE EARTH
FORESTS, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY’RE WORTH
FORESTS, THEY’VE SO MUCH TO GIVE

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP-BOP

ALL BUT MACAWS

A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP-BOP

ALL BUT MACAWS

FORESTS ARE A GREAT GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP BOP.
 ALL
THE HOME OF SPECIES DIVERSITY
FROM SHADY FLOOR TO THE CANOPY.
THERE’RE ANIMALS AND THERE’RE PLANTS GALORE
THEY NEED OUR HELP BUT WE NEED THEM MORE.

THE TREES CAN GROW AMIDST SWAMPS OR STONES

SO MANY FORESTS IN SO MANY ZONES.
BUT STILL IT’S TRUE SO YOU MUST ACT FAST
THEY’RE DISAPPEARING AND MAY NOT LAST.

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP BOP.
 ALL
FORESTS, ONE THIRD OF THE EARTH
FORESTS, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY’RE WORTH
FORESTS, THEY’VE SO MUCH TO GIVE
MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP-BOP

ALL BUT MACAWS

A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP-BOP

ALL BUT MACAWS

FORESTS ARE A GREAT GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.

MACAWS
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP BOP.

ALL
DOO-BOP DOO-BOP DOO-BOP.
 BEETLE
I feel at home here. There’s rotting fruit all over the ground. I LOVE rotting fruit.

KINGSNAKE
Are you going to stay?

BEETLE
Nah. I’ll help you guys nd your own biome. Then I’ll come back and give it a
try.

(THEY start trudging across the stage, towards GRASS that has just entered.)

GRASS #1
Hey, watch where you’re walking!

GRASS #2
Show a little respect!
fi
 ELEPHANT
I think the grass is talking to us.

GRASS #3
Yes we are. We are the grass of the Serengeti.

GRASS #1
We are part of a savanna or grassland biome that makes up half of Africa.

GRASS #2
You may also have seen our cousins, the tall grasses of the North American
prairies.

GRASS #3
Or the short grasses of the Russian steppes.

KINGSNAKE
So you just sit around all day, being, uh, grass?
 BEETLE
That must be a sweet life.

GRASS #1
Oh you think so, do you?

GRASS #2
It’s no walk in the park.

GRASS #3
We grasses are at the bottom of the food chain.
YOU WANT TO BE GRASS
 ALL
OH YEAH OH YEAH
UH HUH UH HUH
GRASS
WE’RE EATEN BY THE ANTELOPE FOR ZEBRAS WE’RE A FEAST

ALL BUT GRASS

OH YEAH

GRASS
WE’RE CALLED LUNCH AND DINNER BY THE WILDEBEEST

ALL BUT GRASS

UH-HUH
 GRASS
WE’RE STOMPED ON BY THE ELEPHANT
YOU KNOW WHAT HIPPOS WEIGH?

ALL BUT GRASS

OH YEAH

GRASS
LIONS LYIN’ ON US EVERY SINGLE DAY.
 ALL
YOU WANT TO BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
SAVANNAS ARE NO PUTTING GREEN

YOU WANT TO BE GRASS?

BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
OH—WE’RE JUST CUISINE.
 GRASS
THERE’RE TERMITE MOUNDS AND ZEBRA HOOVES
HYENAS LAUGH AT YOU

ALL BUT GRASS

OH YEAH

GRASS
WE JUST HAVE TO TAKE IT, WHAT ELSE CAN GRASS DO?

ALL BUT GRASS

UH-HUH
 GRASS
SO IF YOU ARE NOT TRAMPLED ON
YOU’RE LIKELY TO BE CHEWED

ALL BUT GRASS

OH YEAH

GRASS
ON THE SERENGETI
WE’RE THE STEADY FOOD.
 ALL
YOU WANT TO BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
SAVANNAS ARE NO PUTTING GREEN

YOU WANT TO BE GRASS?

BE GRASS?
BE GRASS?
OH—WE’RE JUST CUISINE.

OH—WE’RE JUST CUISINE.

 ELEPHANT
I like it here. That grass looks SO yummy. And my trunk is perfect for nding water stored
in the middle of trees.

KINGSNAKE
Are you going to stay?

ELEPHANT
Maybe later. But I’ll keep going until you nd your biome.

BEETLE
(surprised)
Elephant! You remembered why we escaped from the zoo!

ELEPHANT
(stunned)
We ESCAPED from the ZOO!!??

KINGSNAKE
Come on.
fi
fi
 (THEY trudge along stage. Three POLAR BEARS enter.)

BEETLE
Man, it’s getting cold.

KINGSNAKE
Where’d all the trees go?
POLAR BEAR #1
The trees can’t grow
There’s lots of snow
But that’s not why we’re feeling low.

ELEPHANT
I think that Polar Bear just spoke in rhymes.

BEETLE
This must be the Arctic tundra.

KINGSNAKE
Did you say you were feeling low?
 POLAR BEAR #2
The tundra’s best
One big ice chest
So that is not why we’re depressed.

BEETLE
Are you worried about the melting ice cap?

KINGSNAKE
Is it the short summers?

POLAR BEARS #3
Our words all rhyme
It’s so sublime
But one word kills us every time.
NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA
IT’S TRUE WE’VE LOST SOME PERMAFROST
THE ICE-SHELF ’S GOING BUST
AND SUMMER’S GONE
JUST TWO MONTHS LONG
BUT POLAR BEARS ADJUST.

AND YEAH IT’S TRUE

THE CARIBOU
WILL MIGRATE ONE MORE TIME

BUT HERE IS WHY

I SIT AND CRY:
MY POEMS JUST DON’T RHYME!
NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA
IT IS SAD BUT TRUE
NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA
WHAT’S A BEAR TO DO?

OH...
SAVANNA BANANA
OCEAN MOTION
OTHER BIOMES RHYME

IT’S NOT FAIR FOR A BEAR OF MY FLAIR

NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA.
THERE’S ALWAYS SNOW
AND TREES DON’T GROW
YOU GUYS WOULD FREEZE TO DEATH
THE SQUIRREL’S MEAN
AND WOLVERINES
HAVE REALLY NASTY BREATH.

AND YEAH IT’S TRUE

THE CARIBOU
WILL MIGRATE ONE MORE TIME

BUT HERE IS WHY

I SIT AND CRY:
MY POEMS JUST WON’T RHYME!
NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA
IT IS SAD BUT TRUE
NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA
WHAT’S A BEAR TO DO?

OH...
SAVANNA BANANA
OCEAN MOTION
OTHER BIOMES RHYME

IT’S NOT FAIR FOR A BEAR OF MY FLAIR

NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA.

IT’S NOT FAIR FOR A BEAR OF MY FLAIR

NOTHING RHYMES WITH TUNDRA.
 KINGSNAKE
Let’s go. I could never adapt to that place.

ELEPHANT
I think I’m adapted to peanuts.

BEETLE
I don’t think we’re going to nd any peanuts around here.

ELEPHANT
I was going to eat the grass back there in Africa, but those guys seemed a
little annoyed at us already.

(Three GATORS enter)

ALLIGATOR #1
I know JUST THE PLACE for a hungry elephant.
fi
 ALLIGATOR #2
Yeah, in my BELLY!

ALLIGATOR #3
No, in MY belly!

(ALL THREE GATORS laugh.)

KINGSNAKE
I HATE alligators.
BEETLE
(jumping in front of ELEPHANT, shouts at GATORS)
You stay away from Elephant!

ALLIGATOR #1
(sarcastic)
Well look at this. Stand back, boys. You don’t want to get beaten up by a beetle!

(THEY laugh again.)

 BEETLE
I am a Hercules Beetle, the strongest animal on the planet. I can carry 850 times
my weight.

ALLIGATOR #2
Which is what, a walnut?

ALLIGATOR #3
Why don’t the three of you join us in our swamp?

ALLIGATOR #1
The freshwater biome is the coolest—ponds, lakes, streams, rivers.

ALLIGATOR #2
You’ll love it there.

ALLIGATOR #3
As long as you’re on top of the food chain—like us!
FOOD CHAIN
WHO EATS ALGAE?
WHO EATS MOSS?
DOES NOT TASTE LIKE APPLESAUCE.
WHO EATS ALGAE?
TELL ME WHO—
TADPOLES DO.
DO DO DO DO
DO DO DO.
WHO EATS TADPOLES?
TELL ME WHY?
DOES NOT TASTE LIKE APPLE PIE.
WHO EATS TADPOLES?
TELL ME WHO—
INSECTS DO.
DO DO DO DO
DO DO DO.
FOOD CHAIN
DOES IT EVER STOP?
FOOD CHAIN
FOOD CHAIN
GLAD WE’RE ON TOP.
WHO EATS INSECTS?
BEETLE PIES
WOULD YOU LIKE A SIDE OF FLIES?
WHO EATS INSECTS?
TELL ME WHO—
FISHES DO.
DO DO DO DO
DO DO DO.
 ALLIGATORS
WHO EATS FISHES?
IN ONE BITE!
MAN I’VE GOT AN APPETITE!
WHO EATS FISHES?
TELL ME WHO—

US GATORS DO!
DO DO DO DO
DO DO DO.
 ALL
FOOD CHAIN
DOES IT EVER STOP?
FOOD CHAIN
FOOD CHAIN
GLAD WE’RE ON TOP.

FOOD CHAIN
THERE’RE NO ABSOLUTES
ONE DAY WE MAY BE SOMEONE’S BOOTS.

UH HUH
UH OH!
YUCK!
 BEETLE
(shouts after GATORS, after they’re gone)
That’s right. I’d run too. 850 times my own weight!

ELEPHANT
(rubbing her stomach)
I wish those alligators hadn’t talked so much about eating.

KINGSNAKE
(pointing)
Hey, look under those trees. Mushrooms!

ELEPHANT
I thought mushrooms grew on pizza.

BEETLE
You’d better wait. Some mushrooms are poisonous.
 ELEPHANT
How can you tell what kind these are?

(MUSHROOMS jump up and run around, crazy)

MUSHROOM #1
We’re WILD mushrooms.

MUSHROOM #2
You don’t want to eat us.

ELEPHANT
Yes I do.
 MUSHROOM #3
No you don’t! We’re fungi, and we’re decomposers.

MUSHROOM #1
We help recycle dead plants and animals.

MUSHROOM #2
We’re very important to the ecosystem.

MUSHROOM #3
Fungi are your friends!
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS
 FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS
MUSHROOMS ARE LOW-CAL
BUT YOU DON’T EAT YOUR PAL.
WHEN PLANTS DECOMPOSE
THAT’S WHEN FUNGUS GROWS
BREAKING DOWN EACH PART.
SOME CALL IT ROT
THAT HURTS A LOT
THIS ENZYME THING TAKES ART.

FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS

FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS
 MUSHROOMS
MUSHROOMS

ALL BUT MUSHROOM

YOU’RE THE BOSS!

MUSHROOMS
NOT JUST

ALL BUT MUSHROOM

IN A SAUCE.

MUSHROOMS
WE PUT NUTRIENTS BACK IN THE SOIL.
 MUSHROOMS
MUSHROOMS

ALL BUT MUSHROOM

YOU GOT PRIDE!

MUSHROOMS
NOT JUST

ALL BUT MUSHROOM

AS A SIDE.

MUSHROOMS
HOLD THE GARLIC, SPARE THE OLIVE OIL.
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS.
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS.

~DANCE BREAK~

FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS

FUNGI ARE YOUR
FUNGI ARE YOUR
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS
FUNGI ARE YOUR FRIENDS.
 ELEPHANT
Does it suddenly feel a bit dry to you?

BEETLE
And hot! I think we’ve reached a desert.

KINGSNAKE
This place is great! I love the feeling of sand in my toes.

BEETLE
You don’t HAVE any toes.

KINGSNAKE
Details. And that hot breeze blowing through my hair.

BEETLE
You don’t HAVE any...

KINGSNAKE
(interrupts)
DETAILS! My thermoregulation is BUILT for this place.
 (Three CACTI enter)
CACTUS #1
We could use the company!

CACTUS #2
Yeah. Us Cacti can get lonely out here in the Mojave.

CACTUS #3
Hot deserts make up over ten percent of the earth’s surface.

ELEPHANT
I need some Gatorade. Aren’t you Cacti thirsty?

CACTUS #1
We’ve adapted to the desert.
ADAPTED TO THE DESERT
IT’S HOT
IT’S DRY
BUT LOOK HOW I
HAVE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.

THERE’S SUN
THERE’S SAND
AND I GET TANNED
I’VE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.
ONE HUNDRED
SEVENTEEN DEGREES
WOULD BRING A LIZARD
TO ITS KNEES
BUT I HAVE STEMS
THAT KEEP ME STRONG
‘CAUSE THEY STORE WATER
ALL YEAR LONG.
MY ROOTS
AREN’T DEEP
SO RAIN CAN SEEP
I’VE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.

IT’S HOT
IT’S DRY
BUT WE CACTI
HAVE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.
DOO BEE DAH DOOO BEE DOO BEE DOO
DOO DOO
DOO BEE DAH DOOO BEE DOO BEE DOO
DOO DOO
AH YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW
YAI YAI YAI YAI YAI YAI YAI

I’VE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.

I’VE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.
I’VE ADAPTED TO THE DESERT.
 KINGSNAKE
This is the perfect place for me.

BEETLE
And I’m heading back to the Amazonian rainforest.

KINGSNAKE
See? Aren’t you guys glad we escaped from the zoo?

ELEPHANT
We ESCAPED from the ZOO?!!

BEETLE & KINGSNAKE

Elephant!

ELEPHANT
Just messin’ with you. I’m o to the Serengeti.

TRIO
Looks like I’ve found my home, sweet biome.
ff
THE RIGHT BIOME REPRISE
 ONCE THERE WERE SOME CRITTERS
SO TIRED OF THE ZOO
THEY WANT BACK TO NATURE
BUT DO NOT HAVE A CLUE.

WHAT HABITAT WOULD SUIT THEM?

WHAT SPOT WOULD BE THEIR NICHE?
WHAT COULD THEY ADAPT TO?
WHAT PLACE WOULD SCRATCH THEIR ITCH?
 SO ONE DARK NIGHT
THEY ALL TOOK FLIGHT
TO FIND A BRAND NEW HOME
WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED
THEY’RE ON A QUEST
TO FIND THE RIGHT BIOME.
 BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
THEY’LL SEARCH DAY AND NIGHT

BIOME
THE RIGHT BIOME
WE HOPE THEY CAN SIGHT THE RIGHT BIOME.

THE RIGHT BIOME.

THE RIGHT BIOME.