ONCE UPON A VINE A mu si cal story based on the clas si cal fairy tale Jack and the Bean stalk Mu sic by ELISSA SCHREINER Lyrics by SUNNIE MILLER Book by AR NOLD SOMERS and and JU DITH WEINSTEIN Dra matic Pub lishing Woodstock, Il li nois Eng land Aus tra lia New Zea land
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ONCE UPON A VINE was first pre sented at the Brook - lyn Heights Thea tre, New York City. The pro duc tion was di rected by Bryan McHaffey and in cluded the fol low ing art ists: CAST Ring mas ter.... ROB ERT G. WARING Jac que line...jenny DI A MOND, JULIANNE ZINKEWICZ Mother...CATHY JEWELL Milky White....MAUREEN VIDAL Ped dler...marilynn BECK Bag of Gold...EMILY GAR DI NER Goldie the Hen...EVA CHITTENDEN Harp...JENNY DI A MOND, JULIANNE ZINKEWICZ Mrs. Ogre... ROSINA PANTA-MIMA Mr. Ogre...BRAGI SHUT JR. The Clowns. JOE CECALA, EVA CHITTENDEN, LEE EYPPER, DANNY LIN DEN PRO DUC TION STAFF Cho re og ra phy...carol CREWDSON Mu si cal Di rec tion...charles WANTMAN Sets...LIN DA SHORNACK Lights... ROB ERT G. WARING At the Pi ano...lynn HOFFMAN Pro duc tion Stage Man ager...leslie ROSS
ONCE UPON A VINE A Mu si cal Story For 2 Men, 4-5 Women (or 6 to 7 ac tors) CHAR AC TERS JAC QUE LINE...about 12 years old MOTHER...about 30 years old NAR RA TOR (m)....pref er a bly a ma gi cian PED DLER (m or f)...dressed in rags (can dou ble as Mrs. Ogre) MRS. OGRE.... in her 30s HU MAN BEANS...4 or 5 men and/or women danc ers (can dou ble as ex tras) BAG OF GOLD (m or f)...a very short dancer/singer HEN (m or f)....a dancer/singer HARP (f)...a dancer/singer AUC TION EER (m) TOWNS PEO PLE...3 men and/or women Ex tras: TOWNS PEO PLE, COW, VEN DORS Run ning time: Ap prox i mately 45 min utes
SETTING: A road and a yard out side of a farm house. Up - stage, a kitchen and Jac que line s bed room. A cou ple of chairs and pos si bly a ta ble and a small chest in the kitchen. A win dow, a bed and a small chest of draw ers in the bed room. The scenes in the barn and on the road to and in the Ogre s cas tle can be played in the downstage area. A flat with clouds and a cas tle could be up stage and Jac que line could pass in front of it on her way to the cas tle. A NOTE ON CASTING The part of Jac que line can eas ily be con verted to Jack by chang ing the name through out the script and lyr ics; elim i nat ing the song, Be ing a Girl - Part I; elim i nat ing the song, Be ing a Girl - Part II; mak ing mi nor de le tions in Nar ra tor s mono logue re fer ring to a poor girl, and di a logue lead ing into song Be ing a Girl ; de let ing Be ing a Girl from the mu si cal syn op sis be - low. MU SI CAL SYN OP SIS Spill the Beans...Nar ra tor The Les son....mother Some day...jac que line Bag of Tricks...Ped dler and Jac que line Bag of Tricks Re prise...ped dler and Jac que line You Are Im pos si ble...mother I Can t Be lieve...mother and Jac que line The Vine Climb...Hu man Beans and Jac que line We Three....Bag of Gold, Hen and Harp Be ing A Girl Part I...Jac que line Magic...Jac que line Be ing a Girl Part II...Jac que line To day...jac que line The Les son Re prise...mother and Jac que line I m a Hu man Bean...Jac que line and Cast
ONCE UPON A VINE SCENE 1 AT RISE: The NAR RA TOR ap pears in a spot light. The rest of the stage is dark. He is dressed in a styl ized rock star cos tume and car ries a gui tar. (SONG: SPILL THE BEANS ) NAR RA TOR. My function is to narrate a story See how I start to create a story So concentrate on the story that I want to tell Let me try to captivate you Can t wait for my cue Sit back as I demonstrate and formulate and illustrate I cannot wait to spill the beans 7
8 ONCE UPON A VINE And they aren t baked beans Not even jumping beans I m gonna talk about different beans Your heart I ll make palpitate What s more Your mind I will indeed activate Excitement is what I ll generate I cannot wait to spill the beans And they aren t string beans Not even lima beans I m gonna talk about MAGIC BEANS SCENE 2 (There is a quick black out on the NAR RA TOR, then lights come up on the kitchen in side the farm house.) NAR RA TOR. Once upon a time, there was a poor girl. Let me tell you, she was poor! This kid had no fa ther no friends no money! Now, on the pos i tive side she had her mother and she had a wild imag i na tion and she had her cow.her COW??!! (He shrugs.) Life was hard for Jac que line and her mother on the farm. There was a lot of work to be done from sunup (A card -
ONCE UPON A VINE 9 board sun ap pears and dis ap pears.) to moonrise. (A card board moon ap pears and dis ap pears.) (MOTHER en ters kitchen, takes a worn apron from a hook and ties it around her waist. She takes a glass from a cup board and pours milk from a pitcher. JAC QUE - LINE en ters and kisses her mother.) JAC QUE LINE (cheer fully). Good morn ing! MOTHER (qui etly). Good morn ing, Jac que line. Sit down and have your break fast. There s a lot to be done to day. JAC QUE LINE (takes the glass of milk and walks to the win dow). Oh, Mom. It s so beau ti ful. (Dreamily.) I wish I could just go out. MOTHER (putt ing bread on the ta ble and sit ting down). Well, maybe af ter you get your work done you ll have time for a walk, and while you re out you can walk down to the berry patch and pick some for din ner. JAC QUE LINE (sits down at the ta ble). Later, al ways later. I wish it could be now! MOTHER. First there s the floor to be washed. Then the chick ens have to be fed. Then JAC QUE LINE (in ter rupt ing). I wish MOTHER. What do you wish? JAC QUE LINE. I wish I wish things were dif fer ent! MOTHER. How dif fer ent? JAC QUE LINE. Well I wish we lived in some thing big ger! MOTHER (look ing around the room). We re hardly able to take care of what we have. JAC QUE LINE (quickly). Some thing big ger, but with lots of peo ple to take care of it for us!
10 ONCE UPON A VINE MOTHER. Yes, that would be nice, I sup pose. JAC QUE LINE (en cour aged). And, if I had a lot of money, I could buy a pi ano and a car, and I could buy you ev - ery thing you wanted. MOTHER. Ev ery thing? I don t think I d like ev ery thing. (She rises and starts to clear the ta ble.) Be sides, it is n t go ing to hap pen. (Smiles.) At least not to day. JAC QUE LINE. I know! I was just think ing that if by magic ev ery thing could hap pen at once when you want it! MOTHER. Magic! I don t think there s enough magic in the whole world to get all the wishes you want. You re too much of a dreamer, Jac que line. You have to work for what you want in this world. Thank God for the cow!! We just man age to get by with the money we get from the milk and cheese. JAC QUE LINE. Yes, but MOTHER (in ter rupt ing). Lis ten to me (SONG: THE LES SON ) I want to tell you, my child Please don t be greedy Forget your dreaming, my child Listen to me. You have a lesson to learn What life is about It s what you put in Not what you take out. I want to tell you, my child That part of growing
Is learning how much, my child You do not know. Be sure you work hard now That is the only answer. Forget your dreaming. Forget your dreaming. Forget your dreaming, my child. MOTHER. For get your dream ing! (She re moves her apron abruptly.) I m go ing to milk the cow now. You fin ish up in here. (Exits to the barn.) JAC QUE LINE (starts to clear the ta ble; mim ics her mother s voice). Stop dream ing! Start work ing! (She re - sumes her nat u ral voice.) What else is there to do around here ex cept work, work, work? I re ally do wish things were dif fer ent. (She sits down and puts her feet up on the other chair and lifts the milk pitcher with ex - ag ger ated lady-like man ners. In an ex ag ger ated Eng lish ac cent.) Jeeves, tell Percy that I ll want the car in an hour to go to lunch with my best friend. And then tell Lili, my maid, that I ll wear my pink satin. (She re sumes her nat u ral voice.) Oh, well. Maybe some day things will be re ally dif fer ent. (SONG: SOME DAY ) Someday Someday My dreams will finally All come true. ONCE UPON A VINE 11
12 ONCE UPON A VINE Someday Someday My old dreary things Will suddenly become brand new. Watch how I change things Forever I ll be so clever Cause I m just like other kids are. I want what other kids want. Someday Will be MY DAY. MOTHER (off stage, scream ing). Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! SCENE 3 The barn (JAC QUE LINE runs to barn where MOTHER is try ing des per ately to milk the cow.) JAC QUE LINE. What s wrong? MOTHER (con tin ues milk ing). She s gone dry! God! She s gone dry! JAC QUE LINE (fright ened). What will we do now? MOTHER (stops milk ing). What will we do? I don t know! What good is she like this? What else can we do JAC QUE LINE. No! You won t sell Milky White?
ONCE UPON A VINE 13 MOTHER. You still call her that! You gave her that name when she was born. JAC QUE LINE. Please don t! MOTHER. Jac que line! Look, it s the only way. We sell her and with the money we buy an other cow. That s all we can do. JAC QUE LINE (hold ing back tears). Oh, Mom! Is n t there an other way? MOTHER. If there is, I don t know it. Un less some of your magic be gan to work for us. And that is n t too likely! (They leave the barn. In an ef fort to cheer JAC QUE LINE:) There s a fair in town to mor row. How about if you took the cow and tried to sell her? I d go my self, but I ve got to plant the po ta toes in the north field be fore they rot. (She takes JAC QUE LINE by the shoul ders.) Now lis ten to me. You re not too young to take on some real re - spon si bil ity. This is busi ness! Go to the fair sell the cow get a good price and come right home. JAC QUE LINE. No. I mean, yes. I guess so. (Patting MILKY WHITE.) And I ll try to sell her to some one who will give her a good home. And I ll try to get a good price so you won t have to worry about any thing any more. (Exits.) MOTHER. Poor Milky White. Poor us! SCENE 4 The fair grounds (En ter NAR RA TOR. He crosses, point ing at the card board sun he is hold ing.) NAR RA TOR. Bright and early the next morn ing. (Exits.)
14 ONCE UPON A VINE (Fair scene: Ven dors hawk ing wares and ad-libbing. JAC QUE LINE and MILKY WHITE en ter the fair. The TOWNS PEO PLE and VEN DORS sing and dance. At the con clu sion of the dance the mu sic con tin ues softly. TOWNS PEO PLE ex am ine MILKY WHITE.) JAC QUE LINE (look ing up at a sign: LIVE STOCK AUC - TION ). Is this where you sell live stock? TOWNSPERSON. This is it! Is that your live stock? (He laughs and calls to AUC TION EER.) Hey, Bob! Look here at the prize cow this lit tle kid brought to sell. (All laugh.) JAC QUE LINE. What s wrong with Milky White? AUC TION EER. She s too old and too thin And prob a - bly she s dry. That s what s wrong! And that s enough! (All laugh.) JAC QUE LINE. She s not old! (Plumping up cow like a pil - low.) And she s not so thin. And she just went dry yes - ter day. (All laugh.) AUC TION EER. You better take her home and keep her for a pet. You ll never sell that one. Now get on home so we can get on with this auc tion. (JAC QUE LINE ex its to laugh ter.) SCENE 5 A road (JAC QUE LINE is seated on a rock next to MILKY WHITE. En ter PED DLER up stage un seen by JAC QUE LINE. PED - DLER is dressed in sump tu ous rags. They are left-over pieces of rich and fab u lous ma te ri als that have been patched to gether. PED DLER is car ry ing many shop ping
ONCE UPON A VINE 15 bags full to over flow ing with junk. Very cool, very de - tached, very canny.) JAC QUE LINE. Now what? I can just hear Mom Jac - que line, what will we do now? How can I go home with out hav ing sold Milky White? PED DLER. You don t have to. JAC QUE LINE (star tled). I did n t see you. PED DLER. Well, I saw you. And I could n t quite help no - tic ing your dog. Large, is n t he? JAC QUE LINE. That s not a dog. It s a cow, and he s a she. PED DLER. Is she now? And what are you? JAC QUE LINE. I m a she too. PED DLER. A shetoo? Why is n t that some sort of Chi nese dog? JAC QUE LINE (points to MILKY WHITE). That s a cow. (Points to her self.) I m a girl. (Points to PED DLER s bags.) And what s that stuff? PED DLER. Oh, tricks and toys and whys and hows. JAC QUE LINE. Whys and hows? PED DLER (takes a long piece of col ored silk out of one of the bags). They re very sim i lar to whys and wherefores. JAC QUE LINE. Oh, I see I guess! Do you sell them? PED DLER (haugh tily). I don t sell any thing. I bar ter! JAC QUE LINE. Oh! PED DLER. Now (French ac cent.) Jac-a-leen JAC QUE LINE. How did you know my name? PED DLER. I know ev ery thing. And can do any thing. Which is the way of us Magic Peo ple! (Turns the silk into an other color.) JAC QUE LINE. Magic Peo ple? PED DLER. Why, yes! Don t you be lieve in magic? Don t you be lieve that some things are not what they seem?
16 ONCE UPON A VINE That ev ery thing can t be ex plained? (Pro duces a magic wand.) That there is more to life than meets the eye so to speak? JAC QUE LINE. Well, as a mat ter of fact PED DLER (in ter rupt ing). That some things can only come true by magic? (Huffily.) Tell me that you don t be lieve in magic re ally! (Pro duces a bou quet of flow ers from the wand.) JAC QUE LINE. But I m try ing to tell you that I do. I re ally do I think. Only I ve never seen any. (SONG: BAG OF TRICKS ) PED DLER (does some sim ple tricks dur ing song). So you want to see magic Yes, you want to see magic? Watch me closely, cause I ve got tricks stashed up my sleeve More tricks than you would believe. Take a look at my magic I got a bag full of magic The hand is quicker than the eye. Pull a rabbit from a hat. JAC QUE LINE. A rabbit from a hat? PED DLER. Take a coin from your ear.