WALTHAM WALTHAM: The story of Paul Revere's midnight ride came alive for students at Our Lady's Academy on Monday, as five performers rendered a comedic, theatrical snapshot of a critical moment in American history.

Students giggled as they watched the white-haired King George III pounce around stage, singing, "Oh, I wish I were a little kitty, with no responsibilities at all."

They seemed to get a little nervous, blushing and looking around at their peers' reactions, "aww-ing" when Paul Revere proposed to Rachel Walker.

About 150 students in grades 3 through 8 watched the five-man, one-hour musical production of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." Ben H. Winters and Stephen Sislen wrote the play, and New York-based Theatreworks USA, a professional drama organization that gears its productions for young and family audiences, performed it.

Carleen Hart, enrichment coordinator for Our Lady's Parent-Teacher Organization, said the PTO sponsored the event. Its goal was both to educate and entertain, she said.

Afterwards, students said the play showed them a lot about Paul Revere, King George III, and John Hancock.

"I learned about the people who were here (in the Boston area) - Samuel Adams and John Hancock. I knew their names, but now I know a little bit more about what they did," said Julia Hart, 11, a fifth-grader at Our Lady and daughter of the PTO's Carleen Hart.

"The most interesting thing was the music, because I remember it more, and it wasn't something that was boring," she said.

The PTO has been trying to sponsor more in-school programs versus field trips during the recession to "get more bang for our buck," Hart said.

Fourth-grader Alex Campbell, 10, said the performance was "really, really good."

"I learned a bunch of stuff, like that Paul Revere's friend was a British soldier. That was surprising to me," he said.

"The best part was when he was captured, and a bunch of Minutemen came and saved him," said Campbell.

His sister, fifth-grader Haley Campbell, 11, called the show, "just amazing.""It was really, really cool. I thought the whole thing was interesting. The sound effects made it all come together," she said.

Nine-year-old Andrew Hart, a third-grader and Julia Hart's brother, said he learned a lot from the performance.

"I really didn't know who Paul Revere was until they talked about him. I learned about the war they had been fighting with the British, and the taxes, and how Paul Revere wanted to be the world's best (silversmith)," Andrew Hart said.

The show seemed to have the effect the PTO aimed for.

"We thought it would be good to have the (drama), history, and music all rolled into one. We thought it would be good for the kids to learn about local history," Carleen Hart said.