Selah, a burgeoning songwriter, is excited to hear that her father is coming home from the war in West Candling. But, the joy of having her family reunited is short-lived when a harsh War Tax is started instead. Inundated with catchy pro-war propaganda songs, Selah is inspired to share her own music with the village, creating some competition for the King.
Passionate young song writer - peasant, 15-20, female, alto
Jaded farmer home from war - peasant, 40-60, male, baritone
Jealous King/Queen of Candling, any gender, any age, soprano
Bumbling Jester/Custodian, any gender, any age, soprano
Guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Percussion
Rebecca Steiner
Bryan Moyer Suderman
Kimberlee Walker
Dave Metcalfe
Dave Metcalfe
Annette Steiner
Dave Metcalfe
A heartwarming musical that tells the story of a young girl whose courage inspired a village, and whose song became an anthem for peace.
Selah’s Song was originally conceived as a 40-person folk musical, and was staged in partnership with Nineteen on the Park Theatre and Theatre of the Beat in January of 2014. Nearly six years later, Johnny Wideman began a drastic rewrite of the piece, completely reimagining it as a four-hander that would feature politically inspired puppets throughout history: from Punch and Judy to Bread and Puppets. In the winter of 2020 the piece reentered another workshop process, overseen by Director Erin Brandenburg, and involving puppeteers from Toronto's Clay and Paper Theatre, and local folk musician/actors. Having successfully revisioned the staging and production, Theatre of the Beat agreed to produce the piece again, scheduling a month-long cross-Canada tour that was supposed to hit the road in March 2020. Obviously this was cancelled due to COVID-19, but the piece remains primed and ready for a remount.
