Babes in Toyland

Glen MacDonough

Description

Babes in Toyland (1903) is a libretto by Glen MacDonough. Written for an operetta composed by Victor Herbert, MacDonough’s libretto is a story for children and adults alike. Taking inspiration from beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes, MacDonough crafted an American classic that has been adapted countless times for theater, film, and television.

As though losing their parents wasn’t traumatic enough, Alan and Jane are forced to live with their wicked Uncle Barnaby. When he becomes aware of the massive fortune they stand to inherit, he hatches a plan to get them out of the way. Sent to sea with sailors Gonzorgo and Roderigo, Alan and Jane are soon lost in a terrible shipwreck. Somehow, they survive and are taken to the garden of Contrary Mary—who had nearly been forced to marry Barnaby. When their Uncle discovers their location, Alan and Jane are kidnapped and taken to the Forest of No Return, where a benevolent queen offers to protect them from the treacherous Spider’s Den. Eventually, the children make their way to Toyland, where they must make a final stand against Barnaby and the Master Toymaker. Babes in Toyland is a tale of romance and adventure from Glen MacDonough, a legendary figure of early Broadway.

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Glen MacDonough’s Babes in Toyland is a classic of American children’s fiction reimagined for modern readers.

Sujets

• Classiques Jeunesse
• Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités
• Christmas
• Classics
• Mother Goose
• Juvenilee Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Mint Editions
• Date de parution: 24 mars 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781513288024
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Babes in Toyland
Glen MacDonough
 
Babes in Toyland was first published in 1903.
This edition published by Mint Editions 2021.
ISBN 9781513283005 | E-ISBN 9781513288024
Published by Mint Editions ®

minteditionbooks .com
Publishing Director: Jennifer Newens
Design & Production: Rachel Lopez Metzger
Project Manager: Micaela Clark
Typesetting: Westchester Publishing Services
 
C ONTENTS CAST SYNOPSIS OF SCENES ACT I SCENE I SCENE II SCENE III ACT II SCENE I SCENE II SCENE III ACT III
 
C AST
U NCLE B ARNABY , A rich miser.
A LAN , His nephew.
J ANE , His niece.
T HE W IDOW P IPER , A lonely widow with fourteen children.
T OM T OM , Her eldest son.
C ONTRARY M ARY , Her eldest daughter.
H ILDA , A maid of all work for the Piper family.
T HE G IANT S PIDER
T HE M ASTER T OY M AKER
G RUMIO , His assistant.
I NSPECTOR M ARMADUKE , Of the Toyland Police.
Two ruffians
R ODERIGO
G ONZORGO
Piper’s Children
J ILL
B OY B LUE B O
P EEP
M ISS M UFFETT S IMPLE
S IMON C URLY L OCKS
B OBBY S HAFTON S ALLIE
W ATERS
R ED R IDING H OOD , and etc.
 
S YNOPSIS OF S CENES
A CT I
Scene I: Country fete in Contrary Mary’s garden.
" II: A Garden Wall.
" III: A Spider’s Forest.
A CT I I
Scene I: The Christmas Tree Grove in Toyland.
" II: A Street in Toyland.
" III: The Master Toymaker’s Workshop.
A CT I II
The Courtyard of the Toyland Palace of Justice.
 
ACT I
 
Scene I
The scene shows the garden of Contrary Mary near the Widow Piper’s home. A cask of ale and decorations and pennats and bunting suggest a fete. A party of peasants as the scene is revealed.
No. 1.—Country Dance and entrance of the Chorus.
U NCLE B ARNABY enters at the end of the dance, smirking and bowing right and left. The peasants snub him.
B ARNABY: Enjoy yourselves, enjoy yourselves, my dear friends. I am delighted to see you so happy. Are the Piper children here—and especially Contrary Mary?
J ILL: No, Master Barnaby, Mary didn’t come to the Fete.
B ARNABY: That’s strange, I’m giving it to please her—and to make you all a little fonder of me.
J ILL: Why, are you our host?
B ARNABY: Yes.
J ILL: ( To the crowd ) Only yesterday he seized poor old Mother Hubbard’s house and turned her into the road, all for a debt of a few shillings!
( Crowd jeer at Barnaby )
1ST G IRL: ( To the crowd ) Let’s finish the afternoon by putting Barnaby under the town pump!
A LL: Hurrah!
( Start to take Barnaby away. T OM T OM E NTERS U P R .)
J ILL: Hi! Tom Tom, just in time!
T OM ( Coming down C .) What for?
B ARNABY: ( Rushing to Tom ) To save me from the town pump! Stop ’em, my boy, stop ’em, don’t let ’em hurt your future brother-in-law!
T OM: ( At C. laughing ) What you? Which of my sisters had caught your miserly eye?
B ARNABY: ( Ecstatically ) It’s Mary—willful, but entrancing Mary!
T OM: ( Derisively ) Y OU want to marry Contrary Mary? You might as well try to turn off the sun and blow out the stars!
( All laugh )
But let him go, friends, as a favor to me! We may be relatives yet.
( Goes down L .)
B ARNABY: ( L.C .) Ah! Then there’s hope for me with Contrary Mary?
T OM: Not a gleam, but some day, you may be my uncle-in-law!
B ARNABY: ( With pretended grief ) If you mean my niece Jane? She and Alan are at the bottom of the sea.
T OM: I don’t believe it!
B ARNABY: ( Mopping eyes with handkerchief ) They’ll never come back to their broken-hearted Uncle Barnaby!
( T OM T OM goes up stage )
J ILL: And what’s their broken-hearted Uncle Barnaby going to do with their fortune? ( C ROWD again gathers around Barnaby )
B ARNABY: ( Hypocritically ) I’m keeping it for them—the law forces me to do tat.
J ILL: Trust you to take good care of money. You skinflint! But you’ll be wise if you take better care to keep out of our way hereafter. Now go! ( They all jeer and threaten him )
( B ARNABY is chased off up R .) ( He exits, followed by Jill & all )
( T OM picks up his staff and bundle from steps of house. H ILDA enters from house left )
H ILDA: Master Tom Tom where are you going?
T OM T OM: Hilda, I’m going to find the girl I’m in love with—Jane.
H ILDA: Old Barnaby’s niece?—( Gonzorgo and Roderigo enter up right ) But wasn’t she lost at sea with her brother Alan?
T OM: Old Barnaby says so, and that’s why I don’t believe it.
G ONZORGO: ( Dropping down to him ) But me and my sad faced companion can prove it. We were the sole survivors of the wreck.
T OM: And who are you?
G ONZORGO: I was in charge of the ship, my name is Gonzorgo. ( Pointing to Roderigo ) This is my mate and friend to boot.
R ODERIGO: Yes, friend to boot!
G ONZORGO: We swear by our right hands ( They raise left hands ) everyone was lost on the ship but us.
H ILDA: I don’t think they’re telling the truth!
T OM: Nor do I! ( Looking instantly at both of them ) I remember seeing you two some place before, where was it?
R ODERIGO: You don’t by any chance go in for the three B’s do you?
G ONZORGO: Yes, the three B’s. Bridge, Bank Nite and Bingo!
T OM: ( Pointing at Gonzorgo ) I saw you at the Village Fair. You were running the carasel. And you offered to wager you could pick the horse that would come in first.
G ONZORGO: ( Drawing sword ) You can’t accuse us of cheating, it must have been two other scoundrels. Defend yourself!
( Attacks T OM , who parries with his staff and knocks Gon’s sword from his hand as W IDOW P IPER E NTERS from the house L .)
H ILDA: ( Running to her ) Oh, Mrs. Piper, you’re just in time!
W IDOW: ( Coming down C .) Tom, don’t be rude to the gentleman!
G ONZORGO: ( Gallantly ) Madam, is he your little boy?
G ON.: He can’t be the white-haired boy and still a black sheep.
R ODERIGO: Maybe she’s color blind.
G ON.: Because of that, I spare him.
( Picks up sword, T OM & H ILDA G O U P S TAGE )
W IDOW: Accept the blessings of a lonely widow!
G ON.: ( Elbowing Roderigo away ) Have you been lonely long?
W IDOW: Two years.
R ODERIGO: ( Pointing to Tom ) And have you only the white-haired black sheep to love?
W IDOW: No, he has 13 sisters and brothers who need a father’s care.
R OD.: That’s a lot of work for one caretaker.
G ONZORGO: Fourteen children! And—( Points to house ) Is this where you call the Convention to order?
W IDOW: Yes, Mr. Piper left us very well off. And this is our cottage. ( Gonzorgo and Roderigo look at each other )
G ONZORGO: ( Turns to Widow ) I adore the country, don’t you?
W IDOW: I have to.
R ODERIGO: Why?
W IDOW: Did you ever try to rent an apartment in the City with 14 children?
G ONZORGO: ( Tenderly ) And when the nestlings have all flown away, have you ever thought of mating once again?
W IDOW: Well, of course I’ve had my moments. Will you gentlemen enter and partake of some refreshments?
G ON. & R ODERIGO: Will we!? We will.
W IDOW: I married once for money. If I wed again, it will have to be an artist, a poet, or a hero.
R ODERIGO: I’m not an expert accountant, but did you say you had 14 children?
W IDOW: Yes, fourteen.
G ONZORGO: Your second husband would have to be a hero.
( The T HREE E XEUNT into house left )
H ILDA: ( To Tom ) I’ll look for the children, Master Tom, and tell them you’re going away.
T OM: Thank you, Hilda. ( H ILDA exits up Left )
( B O P EEP enters right, dejectedly )
T OM: Why, sister Bo Peep, you have the saddest face I’ve ever seen.
B O P EEP: I missed most of the party, because I lost my sheep.
T OM: That’s nothing for you to feel sheepish about—don’t cry, little Bo Peep, don’t cry.
S ONG #2.
( T OM , B O P EEP , P IPER C HILDREN & C HORUS )
( During the song, J ILL and O THER P IPER C HILDREN E NTER )
( After number )
T OM: I’ve just found out why old Barnaby is paying for this party.
A LL: Why?
T OM: He wants everybody on hand to hear his engagement announcement.
B O P EEP: Engagement? To whom?
T OM: Contrary Mary.
B O P EEP: Oh, Mary hasn’t gone and done a dreadful thing like that?
T OM: Not yet. But mother’s set on the match, and is going to announce the engagement anyway. ( A LL express anger )
J ILL: Let Barnaby keep his old party! I’m going back to tidy up the stable! ( Starts up L. to exit. Others stop her )
B O P EEP: Party! He can’t buy us with lemonade and chocolate eclaires, can he girls?
A LL: No! ( J ILL sits on stage down L.C .)
T OM: I hope all of you will keep out of trouble till I get back. ( Starts up Right )
A LL: Where are you going?
T OM: Away this very hour to look for Jane!
M ISS M OFFETT: ( One of the Piper children ) Do keep out of that awful forest! They say there’s a veil in it filled with spiders.
T OM: I will, Little Miss Moffett, no spiders for you eh? I know how tough it was on the tuffet.
M ISS M OFFETT: ( Shuddering ) I don’t like to see spiders. When you’ve seen one of them you’ve seen them all.
T OM: Well I’m off on my hunt for Jane. Who’ll go as far as the turn of the road with me? ( Starts up right )
A LL: All of us!
( H ILDA E NTERS from house left, with small package in hand )
H ILDA: Wait, Master Tom, you mustn’t go around the world hungry. Here’s a box of sandwiches with jelly and pickle.
T OM: Thank you, Hilda. And good-bye! Come along, boys and girls. ( E XITS with A LL except H ILDA and Jill )
H ILDA: ( Waving to Tom ) Goodbye! Goodbye! Just think, he’s leaving his native home land. He’ll be like a man without a country. What can be worse than that!
J ILL: Nothing “except a country without a man.”
H ILDA: He’s going around the world to find his sweetheart. ( J ANE E NTERS up L. in gypsy boy’s costume )
J ILL: And everybody knows that Jane is under the ocean.
J ANE: Everybody except Jane!
H ILDA: You? It isn’t you, is it?
J ANE: Hilda, it simply can’t be anybody else!
H ILDA: ( Embracing her ) Where’s Alan?
J ANE: He stopped to pin up a tear in his skirt.
J ILL: Skirt?
J ANE: After the shipwreck, our clothes were in tat