10-MINUTE MUSICAL COLLECTION
Book & Lyrics by
A. J. Freeman
Music by
Dimitri Landrain
Musical, Family
Fables
FABLES follows one day in the forest as the audience meets creatures struggling with various situations. We meet ROOSTER and DOG, ready for an adventure; SUN and WIND, who heal old wounds due to bullying; frightened FROG and RABBIT who learn they have a lot in common; several stubborn GOATS who discover a new perspective; ANT and GRASSHOPPER who learn to work together; FOX and CROW who wrestle with selfishness; and MOUSE and LION who overcome society’s expectations and become friends despite their different backgrounds.
A 10-minute musical focused on ANT and Grasshopper is also available for licensing.
Overview
Cast Size
15+
Duration
65 min.
Setting
N/A
Subgenre
n/a
Themes
Friendship, Responsibility, Tolerance, Bullying, Forgiveness, Bravery, Honesty
Target Audience
Appropriate for all audiences
Style
Musical Theater, Jazz
Instrumentation
Piano/Vocals
Additional Resources
Demo Tracks, Individual Song Recordings, Video
Cautions
N/A
Casting Information
*19 Roles with flexibility on doubling or not depending on cast needs!
3 TREES
ROOSTER
DOG
SUN
WIND
FROG
RABBIT
4 GOATS
ANT
GRASSHOPPER
FOX
CROW
MOUSE
LION
Songs
Media
Production History
FABLES premiered at Lincoln Center on July 20, 2021 as part of their Summer for the City series.
Cast: Christy Yin, Kalia Lay, Ben Diamond, Harrison Drake
FABLES in Concert at Green Room 42
Sunday, May 12th at 1pm
Cast:
TREE TRIO: Anika Braganza, Maggie Bera, Leonay Reina
ROOSTER: Marquise Neal
DOG: Benjamin Harding
SUN: Connor Delves
WIND: Bex Odorisio
FROG: Lorenzo Hilliard
RABBIT: Sienna Aczon
GOAT 1: Sadie Mae O'Sullivan
GOAT 2: Felice Kakaletris
GOAT 3: Mélodie Romano
GOAT 4: Sofie Nesanelis
ANT: Laura D’Andre
GRASSHOPPER: Autumn Hurlbert
FOX: Alyssa Wray
CROW: Scott Ahearn
MOUSE: Carly Gendell
LION: Connor Marsh
Creative Team
Director: Rebecca Miller Kratzer
Music Director: Ben Covello
Producer: Tiffany Schleigh
Composer: Dimitri Landrain
Lyricist/Librettist: A. J. Freeman
Author Bios
A. J. FREEMAN [Book & Lyrics] is a writer, teacher, and performer. As a lyricist/librettist A. J.'s musicals include: Tomorrow, The Carousel of Inevitability and Certain Foreboding, A Cordial Invitation, Hay Fever, Derailed!, Fables, In Other Words, The Crane Wife, A Note of Explanation, What’s Her Line?, Kurt ‘n’ Pat: Spies 4 Hire!!!, and Double Double. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and Actors’ Equity. A. J. created a literacy-based musical theater nonprofit which provided free reading books and theater workshops to thousands of children across Los Angeles. Her favorite quote comes from a 2nd grader after an assembly: “I only have seven books at home...now I’ll have eight!” A. J. is a cabaret performer, championing brilliant but forgotten music of the 1920s and 30s. She has created shows that celebrate Jerome Kern, Rodgers & Hart, Dorothy Fields, Cole Porter & Noël Coward, and many other legends. Speaking of legends: A. J. has studied with Karen Morrow, Donna McKechnie, Helen Gallagher, and Betty Garrett! A. J. also stubbornly continues to post a ukulele song every Monday on her youtube channel (afreeman727) despite several noise complaints from her neighbors. Follow her adventures, musical and otherwise, here: www.aj-freeman.com
DIMITRI LANDRAIN [Music] is a French pianist/composer based in New York City. In 1997, he won a scholarship at a Berklee workshop in Umbria and subsequently moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. Dimitri then worked as a Showband musician/Band Leader on cruise lines, allowing him to travel the world. He has also written numerous pop songs, including “Nous Ne Sommes Presque Rien,” recorded by French singer Liane Foly on her Platinum Album. In 2006, Dimitri pursued a Master of Music Jazz at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, followed by an MFA at TISCH NYU in the Graduate Music Theater Writing Program. He was also accepted to the BMI Advanced Lehman Engel Workshop (participation ongoing) and has written a children’s show licensed by MTI: “Ant and Grasshopper” (co-written with A. J. Freeman as Bookwriter/Lyricist). Dimitri released his first album in 2013, September, NYC, featuring solo piano works. In 2016, he returned permanently to New York City and began faithfully attending the Barry Harris workshop, which significantly influenced his second album of original trio works, Astor’s Place, released in the summer of 2023 under the Zoho Music label. He is actively writing and gigging throughout New York City.
