After Josh and I directed our smash success (by children’s theater standards), a few changes happened in my life.
The biggest change: I got married.
The other big change: I moved from Orange County to Los Angeles.
At first, I thought that I wouldn’t be directing another show for the Yorba Linda Civic Light Opera. But, during the year, I kept coming up with some new song idea. And I kept thinking about the various flaws during the last show. I wanted to create something that was really tight, structurally. And really fun.
And for some reason, I kept thinking of Aesop’s Fables — little stories I had heard throughout my childhood, tales with a clear moral at the end. And, as I thought about the fables of Aesop, I also recalled a story about a dog, a cat, a rooster, and a donkey — “The Musicians of Bremen.” So, I combined all of the material and created “Aesop’s Hop.”
I felt truly proud of the show. About three or four times a week I drove out from LA to Yorba Linda. But you know what, I didn’t mind. The rehearsal process was the smoothest experience I’ve ever had as a director. The kids were terrific, as usual — but there was something really harmonious about the songs, something that we didn’t quite have in previous shows. Katie Luekens again did the music, and I think it was her finest work of all our children’s shows.
So we did the show, a couple years passed, and for some reason — I can’t quite remember how or why now — I submitted it to a publishing company: Eldridge Plays.
I had sent them plays before and they had kindly said, Thanks but no thanks. They also said to keep trying. Well, they loved “Aesop’s Hop.” They weren’t looking for a youth musical — but they thought the script was great. So it was published as a non-musical. In fact, this was the very first play to be published. I was absolutely thrilled. (I did have irrational visions of it going to Broadway — ah youthful expectations.)
Strangely, even though it was the first of my plays to be published, it was one of the last of my directorial projects. Still, I look back on the show and the writing experience with utmost fondness. It opened a door into the world of publishing — and I’m forever grateful to Eldridge Plays for taking on the project!
