Helen Keller! The Musical - Plot

Plot

The fourth graders are rehearsing for the "Thanksgiving Extravaganza", where they have to perform The Miracle Worker, which is the story of Helen Keller, starring Timmy as Helen. Butters provides them reports that the kindergarteners' play is the greatest show he has ever seen, and the other kids agree to put extra effort into making their play better. Cartman agrees to adapt the play into a musical, and eventually Jeffrey Maynard, who played the lead in Les Misérables for the Denver Community Playhouse, is brought in to help. The kids also decide to replace Helen's pet dog with a turkey, which is also to perform tricks for the audience. Timmy helps to pick out the turkey, and chooses a disabled turkey which he names "Gobbles".

At rehearsal, Maynard brings in a professional performing turkey named Alinicia, and her trainer Lamond declares that she will not perform with Gobbles, and suggests Cartman kill it. Cartman attempts to kill Gobbles with a falling stage-light, but it hits and kills Kenny by mistake. Eventually, Lamond tells Timmy that animal control is going to take Gobbles from him because he is disabled, and Timmy reluctantly lets Gobbles go. When Timmy realizes he has been tricked, he leaves to rescue Gobbles, who has been found by a slaughterhouse and is now being pursued by Jimbo and his hunter friends. In Timmy's absence, Maynard goes on as Helen Keller and surprises everyone by singing ad-libbed songs to express Helen's thoughts, much to Cartman's dismay. Also after hearing the kindergarteners' play even has pyrotechnics, Cartman rigs laser shows, choreography and water effects into the fourth graders' show, culminating with Alinicia leaping through a ring of fire - the result is so extravagant it leaves the audience very confused.

Timmy, Gobbles and Jimbo go to the Thanksgiving Extravaganza and shoot Alinicia. Gobbles goes onstage and jumps through the ring of fire during the grand finale, and the audience, following a stunned Principal Victoria's lead, gives a standing ovation. In the end, the kindergartners put on their show: a song to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" about the first Thanksgiving, ending with them setting off a small confetti cannon (which Butters thought was special effects) which scares one kindergartner and makes them flee the stage, and bringing a prop horse on stage. The performance is less than a minute long. The Fourth Graders then realize that by listening to Butters, they had "Worked their asses off for 'That'" ('That' being the Kindergarteners' play,) and they promptly get mad at Butters, because it turns out that, in reality, Butters really liked the Kindergarteners' play.