Jack and the Giant Beanstalk
~ Linda Daugherty - M4,F5 + 7 Children - flexible - J41

There is much more to this play than Jack and a Beanstalk

Of course, there's the proverbial giant, but there is also the giant's overworked, over-wrought wife, an aria-singing harp, a golden-egg-laying chicken with performance anxiety, and a blue-eyed stranger who looks surprisingly like Jack's long-lost father

Naturally, there's the village at the foot of the Beanstalk and the giant's home in the sky, but there is also, 10 years earlier, a sailing ship caught in a storm off the coast of Pago Pago ("or was it Bora Bora") with its blue-eyed master pulled mysteriously from the wreckage by a giant hand

Certainly, there's Jack's distressed mother and the peddler who sells Jack the magic beans, but there is also the peddler's story of having bought the beans from a blue-eyed stranger; the Ladies Plum and Pomegranate, who provide the comic relief in Jack's village; and Jack's pals, including a rough and ready tomboy named Adelaid

With all the familiar ingredients in the mix, plus so much more, and with fresh and witty dialogue, this will be a re-discovered delight for actors and audiences alike

Runs about 65 minutes