HEIDI Musical Play in 1 Act. Book by Sarah Schlesinger and David Evans. Music by David Evans. Lyrics by Sarah Schlesinger This melodious and charming story about the plucky Swiss orphan who brings joy and meaning into her grandfather's lonely life is the latest musical for young people from the acclaimed touring company Theatreworks USA. It has all the qualities of the other successful musicals from this company: a well known story with a small cast and a book and score by fresh new talent, in this case Sarah Schlesinger and David Evans. STORY The company welcomes the audience and, in a narrative voice, introduces the story of Heidi. In the opening song the characters make the climb up a Swiss mountain to a small hut high in the Alps. There, Heidi's unhappy grandfather sits all alone. Heidi's Aunt Dete has brought her to meet her grandfather, but the bitter old man has no interest in seeing either of them. It is revealed that six years ago when Heidi's mother, Ilsa, married Dete's brother, Grandfather disowned her. He found his daughter too young for a marriage, but she married anyway and gave birth to a daughter, Heidi. Six years prior to this visit to the mountains, Heidi’s parents died in an accident and Dete has looked after her since. Now Dete must move to Frankfurt to become a governess for a very important family, and they have no room for Heidi. Grandfather refuses to take the child, but when Dete says that she must then place Heidi in an orphanage, the old man agrees to take her. Left alone, Heidi and Grandfather helplessly stare at each other not knowing quite what to say. Heidi offers him a bunch of flowers; he offers her some bread and cheese which she gobbles down quickly. Grandfather is a hermit who never sees or talks with anyone. Heidi promises to stay out of his way and she prepares for bed on some straw and a blanket. Grandfather goes outside to tend the goats, leaving Heidi alone to think about her new life, hoping that her dreams of happiness are not impossible. The next morning, Peter, Grandfather's goatherd, arrives, and is shocked to meet Heidi. Grandfather insists that Peter take Heidi along with him while tending to the goats. Reluctantly, the boy agrees. Up on the mountain with the goats, Peter is whistling away while Heidi is dragging along behind. The city where she used to live was flat and uninteresting and the beauty of the mountains enchants her. The two children talk about Heidi's grandfather, and Peter tells her that the old man wasn't always the way he is now. Something in his past changed him, and whatever it was made him never want to leave his house again. A yodel is then heard in the distance.Peter can't doesn't like yodelling, but he must to call his goats. Heidi, however, has never heard a yodel before and wants to learn to do it. She begs Peter to show her the right way, but he refuses. He only does it when he needs to. She pressures him, and finally he yodels for her. Soon, goats from all over appear and other animals begin to gather. A frightened Heidi then begs him to stop. Peter takes Heidi home and they find Grandfather whittling on a stick. Once the boy leaves, Grandfather prepares to serve Heidi some dinner. She offers to help, but he doesn't want her to. Heidi sees a picture she thinks is of herself, which is really of her mother as a girl. Heidi misses many things about her mother, especially the way she sang her to sleep with a lullaby. She begins to sing, but Grandfather quickly hushes her. The sound of her voice is too painful for him. He then tells Heidi that she cannot stay with him any longer and that he will find a family to take her as soon as possible. She begs him to not send her away, but he can't deal with the pain of having her there. He hurries away, and Heidi is left alone. She looks at the sky and tries to sleep, but she hears her Grandfather outside thinking about his daughter. The next day, while Peter and Heidi are out tending goats, she tells him that she doesn’t want to leave and
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