Fundraiser
for Rainbow for Kids
Book, Lyrics & Music by Kevin M.
Mitchell
Directed by Barb Mulligan
Choreographed by Donna Plumley, Musical
Direction by Kevin Kurth
Produced by Barb Jochens
Webster Groves Theatre Guild
July 20, 21, 22
July 27, 28, 29
Rainbow for
Kids presents a fundraiser musical, Beanstalk! The Musical! This original musical was a sold-out hit
when first performed in
July 20, 21, 22
July 27, 28, 29
Auditions:
Bring music, accompanist provided. Cold
readings. Wear comfortable clothes - will learn short dance. No appointment
necessary.
At: Theatre Guild of
Rainbows for
Kids is a nonprofit organization helping children with cancer and
their families.
Questions about this production, call
Producer Barb Jochens at 314.210.0527 or email at beanstalkthemusical@yahoo.com.
Cast of Characters
The
Village:
Jack: ¡°14¡± played by someone as old as 18. A wise-crack,
works really hard at being lazy, always looking for a shortcut. Carries the
show. Must sing, dance, and be funny.
Old Woman /
Eldra: The evil villainess that
lures little boys and girls up to the castle in the sky. Must sing.
Maggie: Jack¡¯s mother—sweet, but smart. From the school of
hard knocks. Wants Jack to do good.
Linister: Nasty guy down to the handlebar mustache and top hat
with cape, wants to marry Maggie. That and put a mega-mart where the town
square is.
Milkey: Jack¡¯s cow, only line is ¡°Moo¡± but must be able to
act out his/her meaning.
Donovan: Lovable lug, generous, big strong guy. Secretly loves
Maggie from afar, ends up being her hero.
Jim Kiley: The dairy man. In Irish
Salesperson
#1, 2, & 3: Slick sales folks
who sing in the first song, then are part of Villagers (can double up on other
parts if desired)
THE
VILLAGERS:
Bainbridge:
Donavan¡¯s Friend
Miss Cotter: Maggie¡¯s friend.
Villagers: adults of all ages, shapes and sizes, many have a few
lines and sing, including: Mrs. Kiley, daughter Emma; Mr. & Mrs. Smiley (the
butcher and his wife); Old Man Reynolds.
THE CASTLE:
Telly: The giant. Big, and not so bright—really a puppet to
Eldra. Loud, willing to be silly.
Megan: Teenage girl, half girl, half harp—the witch has made
her so because of her beautiful voice and so she never leaves the castle. Jack
becomes smitten with her.
Gussy: The goose that lays the golden eggs, and Megan¡¯s
closest friend. Only line is ¡°honk,¡± but must be able to act out his/her meaning,
like Milkey
Reggie: The gang leader—kind of a Bowery Boy and you never
know if you can trust him.
Grubs with a few lines: Stew, Hors D¡¯Oeuvre, Carrot Cake, Cookie Crumb, Biscuit ¡¦ of
various ages.
Additional
Grubs/Chorus: Up to 10
Kids Chorus:
any number
The Story
Once
upon a moment in a time found in a parallel universe, there lived a young lad
named Jack in a land similar to 17th
century
But
Jack, now a teen-ager, isn¡¯t fond of hard work. Always finding ways to cut
corners (and tending to lose important farm tools in the process), he
inadvertently brings the farm to near financial ruin. Desperate for the month¡¯s
mortgage to keep the evil, lecherous Larry
Linister away, Jack is forced to sell the family cow.
Once
sold, Jack meets an old woman who wants to trade Jack¡¯s cash for some ¡°magic
beans.¡± Promising him riches of gold, Jack foolishly goes for it—not knowing
that the old woman is actually Eldra,
the Evil Witch of the magic castle in the sky. (Eldra can transform her
appearance on earth, and loves lying children like nobody¡¯s business.)
The
next morning, Jack has to tell his Mom that he has traded the cash needed for
the mortgage that month for three ¡°magic¡± beans. Maggie, crushed that Jack
allowed himself to be taken at the cost of losing the farm, leaves crying. Mad
at himself for disappointing his mother, Jack throws the beans aside ... only
to see them take root, and grow into a giant beanstalk.
Jack
climbs it, thinking he¡¯ll get gold. Once in the magic castle, he meets Megan, the harp, and Reggie and his gang of Grubs—all of whom were lured by the
Eldra on promises of riches. But Jack hasn¡¯t sealed his fate, yet. See, once in
the magic castle, should the ¡°victim¡± tell three lies, then his or her way of
getting back home (in Jack¡¯s case, the beanstalk) disappears forever—leaving
them to spend their lives living in the wall trying not to be eaten by the Giant, Eldra¡¯s henchman.
Can
Jack do the right thing and get out of this mess without telling any lies? Is
Megan on his side or Eldra¡¯s? Can he take the grubs with him? Can he get back
with the gold his mother needs to keep the evil banker Linister at bay? Will
Jack be change his slothful ways? Only time will tell ...
Rainbowsforkids.org email: WriteAsRains@sbcglobal.net
* * * FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE * * *
Charity Group Stages Original Family Musical
for Fundraising Event
Beanstalk! The Musical! Revived
for performance at
Webster Groves Theatre Guild July 20-22, 27-29
Media Contact: Barb Jochens
314.210.0527
St.
Louis-based Rainbows for Kids¡¯ annual major fundraising event will be the
performance of Beanstalk! The Musical!
at the Webster Groves Theatre Guild. Auditions for the play will be held at the
theater,
¡°This
event will serve as our one big fundraiser for the year, so it is important to
the organization in that respect,¡± says Sally Tippett Rains, Volunteer
Executive Director of Rainbows for Kids. ¡°But what excites me more is that some
of Rainbow¡¯s children and their siblings will actually get to be in the play.
We have pooled some amazing local talent together already, and we are looking
forward to a terrific production and a successful fundraiser for this very
worthy cause.¡±
Rainbow
for Kids is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity organization that has been helping
families of children with cancer and other serious illnesses since 2000.
Beanstalk! is loosely based on the fairytale ¡°Jack and the
Beanstalk¡± but tells far more of the story. It turns out that Jack is hardly
the only kid to be lured by promises of golden eggs—there¡¯s a whole society of
Bowery Boy–type kids living in the walls of the castle trying to stay away from
the large, but not-so-bright giant. It¡¯s up to Jack to put his personal greed
aside and help others by outwitting the evil witch that runs the castle.
Meanwhile, his mother back home has to deal with the local developer wanting
her farm (among other things).
Beanstalk! was written and composed by St. Louisan Kevin M.
Mitchell, a local author and playwright who created the show in the 1990s. He¡¯s
written for St. Louis Magazine and
other monthly publications, consulted on and written for local political
campaigns, and continues to write books and play music. He wrote the lead role
of the witch for Barb (Tippett) Jochens, who starred in the original
production, which was performed in
¡°I¡¯ve always supported Rainbows for Kids,
and of course I was flattered when Barb asked me to revisit this musical,¡±
Mitchell says. ¡°It¡¯s always a great opportunity for a writer to take another
look at a work and make it better. We have a fantastic director and
choreographer already on board, and it¡¯s such a great opportunity for me and
everyone involved with Rainbows.¡±
In
addition to Jochens¡¯s theater background, she¡¯s been a singer in popular
Signed
on to direct is local director and actress Barb Mulligan. Mulligan has done
extensive directorial work at the Webster Theatre Guild, including Nunsense, The Bad Seed, Guys and Dolls,
Grease, Bye Bye Birdie, and many others. She¡¯s directed for the Ozark
Actors Theatre, Curtain Call Players, and Kirkwood Theatre Guild, and acted and
worked backstage for the St. Louis Repertory Theater and the New Jewish
Theatre, and has been active in teaching and directing children in theater her
entire career.
¡°Kevin
and I are really excited that we were able to bring back the show¡¯s original
choreographer, Donna Plumley,¡± Jochens says. ¡°She is an amazing talent who is
terrific with kids.¡± Plumley is a longtime director and choreographer who has
worked with community groups and high schools on such shows as Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hello
Dolly, The Sound of Music, Oliver!, and
Bye-Bye Birdie.
¡°In
addition to being a great time, this production will raise further awareness of
our organization and the work we do,¡± says Rains. ¡°My sister, Barb, knows
firsthand what it¡¯s like to lose a child to cancer [Jochens¡¯s youngest
daughter, Anne, was the inspiration for Rainbows, and lost her battle to cancer
in 2004]. I am so proud of her for coming up with this great idea and honoring
Annie¡¯s memory with this play. Barb is an amazingly talented person, and it is
great she is using her own talents to help the children.
¡°And
Annie would have been the first one to sign up for the play!¡±
(314)-842-9724
A 501(c)(3)
Charity
Rainbows For Kids is a 501 (c) (3) Charity dedicated
to helping families of children with cancer (and other serious illness.) It was
started in 2000 after a family saw first hand how devastating a cancer
diagnosis can be in a child. Their dedication to Annie, who was six years old
when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, led them to put on a party at
Besides the many parties and events we sponsor for
the children and their families, Rainbows supports several free camps involved
with childhood cancer. One is
We produced a video which is given away to newly
diagnosed patients and their families. Once Annie passed away,
Annie passed away four years ago, and since then so
many new treatments and cures are being discovered every day that we want to
always give out the message of hope. We never gave up on her and we aren't
giving up on the kids we work with. There is always hope, miracles happen every
day and so do new cures.
Once a child or a person of any age, is diagnosed
with a disease, we feel it is very important to remain steadfast with optimism.
Do not let any negativity in. Have faith in God and in the medical
profession---and continue living your life! . Studies have shown that the right
attitude can really have a lot to say about the way a disease will go.
We feel that by giving these kids parties and
activities to look forward to in the midst of all this seriousness, we are
providing the families with a positive outlook. We also strive to motivate and
inspire the parents not to get lost in the heartbreak of the diagnosis and
stresses of the disease. We encourage them to continue living their life and
make time for fun.
Rainbows
For Kids has three areas we focus on: entertaining the kids and families,
donating to cancer related charities (including research) and our Rainbow
Prayer Chain, where volunteers pray for those who need prayers.