Following in the footsteps of past Wayland High School Theater Ensemble (WHSTE) musicals such as Beauty and the Beast and Footloose, this fall’s production of “Just So” adds another family-friendly story to add to your list of classics.
Just So the musical is based on Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, a book of short stories centered around the theme of creation. Kipling’s book was adapted in 1984. When making this change, the playwrights were faced with the challenge of making a book of separate stories into one cohesive plot. Their solution was clever; they centered the plot around The Elephant’s Child, one of the best loved stories in the book,.
The musical follows the Elephant’s Child and the Kolokolo Bird in their adventure across the newly formed word to find Pau Amma, the one who plays with the sea. Throughout their journey they meet many other animals who are new to the world, and they work together to find their respective niches on our planet.
In the end, all of these stories meld together to discuss one theme. “I think that the main topic of ‘Just So’ is finding yourself, finding how you fit and finding what is the journey to finding what fits on you,” director Richard Weingartner said.
Much of this story is told though the musical numbers of this production. The theme of finding yourself even carries over to the melting pot of music performed, according to Weingartner.
“[The musical numbers are made up of] so many different genres. Some of it’s rock and roll, some of it’s reggae, some of it has a Broadway sound. It really goes all over the place, and the sound is very eclectic,” Weingartner said. “The music reflects the emotional temperature of the story.”
The difference in genres assures that everyone will leave with a new favorite musical number.
The choice to perform this musical was obviously a risky one due to it being kind of obscure, but the quality and the life that this show takes on during a performance has cleared out all doubts, according to actor Anna Marobella.
“Not many people have heard of it, and we were all kind of skeptical at first, but reading the script and learning the music is really bringing a whole new life to [the production],” Marobella said.
The roots of this production offer something for everyone, according to Weingartner.
“When you do something like ‘Footloose’ or even ‘Beauty and the Beast’, it has more mature themes to it, but this really is an all-ages show,” Weingartner said. “You could have little kids come to see the show. You could have older folks and anybody in between.”
This show is perfect for families and WHSTE knows it. To accommodate for the influx of a younger audience, they have moved curtain time up from 7:30 pm to 7:00pm. Still, there are no worries if seven is passed your bed time because a Saturday matinee was also added to the line-up.
“We just want to put on a good show for the right audience, so changing our schedule to help out parents of younger kids is the least we could do,” scenic and lighting designer Isabelle Goodman explained.
Tickets will be available at the door and at www.whste.com. Performances are Thursday, November 12 through Saturday November 14 at 7pm. There is also a Saturday matinee at 2pm.
