MUSICALS
CABARET
MUSICALS FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
VOCAL WORK OUT! CD
Ella Enchanted
Ella of Frell is given the ‘”gift” of obedience by Lucinda, her misguided Fairy Godmother, and is forced to do anything people command her. On her adventure to rid herself of the curse, she must outwit ogres, sidestep giants, befriend a prince, survive her step-family, and ultimately find the power to be her true self.
“ELLA ENCHANTED heroically speaks to the value of words…the battle between saying ‘yes’ and ‘no’ wages a magical war…delightful and utterly disarming…A story that gives every child a chance to be heroic every day.” – Broadway World
Winner of the 2018 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Adaptation, Ella Enchanted was co-commissioned by First Stage Milwaukee and Maryland’s Adventure Theatre MTC, premiering in 2016 under the direction of John Maclay in Milwaukee with a large cast of adult and student performers, and at Adventure Theatre under the direction of Mary Hall Surface with a cast of 7. It has since gone on to enjoy productions around the county, including South Coast Rep, Dobama Theatre, Dallas Children’s Theatre, and Oregon Children’s Theatre.
For licensing inquires, contact Leah Hamos at The Gersh Agency, NYC.
“Like many young women everywhere, the word ‘no’ is not a part of (Ella’s) vocabulary…another moving and delightful First Stage production that carries a profound message wrapped in a story guaranteed to be a fascination to young audience members as well as those who are older and wiser.” – On Milwaukee
Audio demo features the voice talents of Caitlyn Calfas (Hattie), Gina D’Acciaro (Mother/Dame Olga), Justin Figueroa (Char), Arielle Fishman (Olive), Joel Gelman (Sir Peter), Malinda Kathleen Reese (Ella), and Erika Whalen Schindele (Lucinda).
Cast: 5 Women, 2 Men and Optional Ensemble
Female:
Ella – Mezzo
Mother/ Dame Olga – Alto
Lucinda / Bird / Manners Mistress – Soprano
Hattie / Ogre 2 – Mezzo
Olive / Ogre 3 – Mezzo
Male:
Prince Charmont – Tenor
Sir Peter / Ogre 1 / Squire – Baritone
Music: Traditional Pop Musical Theatre, scored for Piano, Reed 1 (Flute/Clarinet), Reed 2 (Oboe/Bassoon), Violin, Cello, French Horn, Bass, and Drums. Accompaniment tracks available.
Musical Difficulty: Moderate
Technical Requirements: Intermediate, with potential for puppetry.
Suggested Audience: All ages
“Art, when done right, can change lives, and this piece will be life-changing for so many.” – Arts Atlanta
KAREN ZACARÍAS (Book & Lyrics) is hailed by American Theater Magazine as one of the ten most produced playwrights in the U.S. and the most produced Latina playwright in the nation. Her comedy Native Gardens, about race, class, plants, and fences, hit a political zeitgeist and was one of the top produced plays of 2019. Her musical homage to the telenovela Destiny of Desire, “a terrifically entertaining theatrical roller coaster”(Charles McNulty, LA Times) has sold-out the largest regional theaters from East to West (Arena Stage, The Goodman, Oregon Shakespeare Festival) and is now heading to Broadway. Her gripping drama The Copper Children, about a controversial child separation case in 1905, just had an acclaimed world premiere at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and her bilingual translation of Romeo y Juliet will premiere at California Shakespeare Festival in September of 2021. Other award-winning plays include The Book Club Play, Legacy of Light, Mariela in the Desert, The Sins of Sor Juana, and the adaptations of Just Like Us, Into the Beautiful North, and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent. Her work has also been produced at The Kennedy Center, The Guthrie, Cincinnati Playhouse, The Goodman, South Coast Rep, and many more.
Karen is also one of the most produced children’s theater playwrights in the country. She is the author of ten renowned TYA musicals with composer Deborah Wicks La Puma including Ella Enchanted, Einstein is a Dummy, Ferdinand the Bull, Looking for Roberto Clemente, Chasing George Washington, Jane of the Jungle, and Frida Libre. Karen is also the author of the Marvel play Squirrel Girl Goes to College, and the librettist of several Ballets. She is one of the inaugural resident playwrights at Arena Stage, a core founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons – a large national organization of artists seeking to update the American narrative with the stories of Latinos – and she is the founder of the award-winning Young Playwrights’ Theater (YPT). YPT was cited by the Obama administration as one of the best arts-education programs on the nation.
Karen was voted 2019 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine for her advocacy work involving the arts. She is an inaugural 2019 Sine Fellow for Policy Innovation at American University for advocating for the intersectionality of art and policy and was selected by The League of Professional Theatre Women to receive the 2019 Lee Reynolds Award given annually to a woman in theater who has helped illuminate the possibilities for social, cultural, or political change. She was awarded the 2019 Medallion by the Children’s Theater Foundation of America for excellence and craft and a 2019 speaker at TEDEX Broadway. A graduate of Stanford University and Boston University, Karen lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and three children. She is represented by the Gersh Agency. www.KarenZacarias.com
DEBORAH WICKS LA PUMA (music) – see her bio page
To hear a full demo of Ella Enchanted contact us directly via our contact page.
Meanwhile, visit Crunchynotes on Bandcamp to purchase other show tunes!
