Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?
A New Family Musical in One Act
Adapted from the award winning book by Lauren Child
Book and Lyrics by Maryanne Melloan Woods
Music and Lyrics by Jack Mitchell
About The Show
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOOK? is a fun family musical in one act. Eight year old Herb never imagined the dangers when he decided to scribble on and cut up his book of fairy tales. Drawing mustaches on the characters, pasting telephones into the rooms, and cutting out Prince Charming and the royal thrones had seemed like good fun. But then Herb never imagined he'd fall into the book one night either! After contending with a petulant Goldilocks, a very angry wicked stepmother, and a disappointed Cinderella, all Herb wants to do is find his way off the page. If only he can escape the book, he can make everything happily ever after again… sort of. Throughout his journey, Herb learns a valuable lesson: stories belong to everyone!
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOOK? was named a finalist for The Growing Stage's 2021 New Play Award, The University Of New Hampshire's Anna Zornio Children's Theatre Playwriting Award, and the American Musical Theatre Project.
Cast Size: Five adult actors who all play multiple roles (with the exception of the actor playing HERB).
Running Time: 50 Minutes
Take a listen to 4 of the songs from the show!
*Please reach out directly if you would like access to the full perusal script and demos!
About The Authors
Maryanne Melloan Woods (Book and Lyrics) is a playwright/author/screenwriter. In her career as a tv writer/producer, Maryanne has worked on shows for networks including NBC, Showtime, ABC, Fox, the WB, Nickelodeon and ABC Family.
Maryanne's plays have been staged by theaters and programs such as HBO's New Writers Project and the Mark Taper Forum in L.A, and Playwrights Horizons and Primary Stages in New York.
Maryanne has won the New England Theatre Conference's John Gassner Playwriting Contest, the Venice (CA) Playwrights' Festival and the Long Beach Playhouse New Works Festival. She also received a playwriting grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Maryanne’s screenplay, "Steve,” won “Best Comedy Feature Script” at the 2016 Nashville Film Festival. Her YA novel "Lazarus, " a paranormal thriller, was published by Owl Hollow Press in 2020.
Maryanne is a Librettists Member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop in New York City.
Jack Mitchell (Music and Lyrics) is an award-winning composer, songwriter, music director, producer, and arranger for children's media and musical theatre based in Brooklyn, NY.
Recent TV/Audio projects include original songs and scoring for the first ever Dr. Seuss Podcast, "The Cat in the Hat Cast" (Wondery, premiering September 2023), Warner Brothers' first Looney Tunes Podcast, “Bugs and Daffy’s Thanksgiving Road Trip” (HBO Max and all podcast platforms); original songs, scoring, and arrangements for The Story Pirates Podcast (winner of the 2022 and 2020 Webby and iHeartRadio Awards for Best Kids and Family Podcast, 5 award-winning albums); music composition and production for "Sesame Street", and scores for the interactive streaming show, "Sleep Squad" (starring Tony Nominee Lilli Cooper), SPTV (PBS), and Don’t Break The Rules, (Pinna).
Musicals include THE CLAW (Beat by Beat Press, over 100 productions), WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD BOOK? (with Maryanne Melloan Woods) and THE WRONG AMERICAN! (with Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri).
Jack's music can be heard daily on Sirius XM Kids Place Live, and has been seen/heard on NPR, PBS, ME-TV, and at The Utah Symphony, Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center among others. Proud graduate of Northwestern University and a member of the advanced class of the BMI Workshop and the Dramatist Guild. www.jack-mitchell.com
Contact
For more information about the show or for the full perusal script/demos, please reach out to bigbadbookmusical@gmail.com