Michael is a foster kid with a vivid imagination. Whenever the world gets a bit much for him, he retreats into the amazing world inside his head, and the people in his life become the characters from his favourite story – The Jungle Book. Ever since his mother’s death, Michael has been under the care of his social worker, Chase, who has finally found the ideal home for him with Mrs. Lowell and her pack of foster kids. Initially shy, Michael comes into his own through the friendship of his foster brother, Conor, and some friendly advice from the woman who runs the corner store, Berdine. In Michael’s imagination, Mrs. Lowell becomes Mother Wolf, Chase becomes Bagheera, Berdine becomes Baloo and Conor becomes Grey Brother. But Michael is tormented by the memory of his father who he imagines to be Shere Khan, intent on destroying him. So, when Michael’s father is released from prison and comes back to claim him, Michael’s world is turned upside down and he must find the courage to live in the real world and find the true meaning of family. The Urban Jungle Book is a modern take on the Rudyard Kipling stories and uses pop, rock and rap music, as well as almost continuous movement, to tell these familiar stories in a way you’ve never seen before.
"The Urban Jungle Book" was one of twelve shows selected for the 2020 New York Musical Festival but, unfortunately the festival was cancelled. However, "We Are One Blood", one of the songs from the show, was featured at a concert at 54 Below in January of 2022 that celebrated the "Festival that Never Was" and featured performances by Jason SweetTooth Williams and Justin Liebergen. "The Urban Jungle Book" is unique in that there presently exists an hour-long version that's ready for performance and is particularly suited to young performers/TYA audiences, but also has the potential to be developed into a full-length family show ideal for theatres looking for a show with name recognition and wide appeal.
Male, a foster kid, 13 years old (Baritone)
Male, Michael’s case-worker (Tenor)
Female, a foster mom (Mezzo)
Male, Michael's foster brother, 16 years old (Tenor)
Female, a shop-keeper and friend of Mrs. Lowell (Alto)
Male, Michael's father who's just been released from prison (Baritone)
Female, the neighbourhood cop (Mezzo)
Female, former foster kid who decided to go it alone (Mezzo)
Female, foster kid and ensemble (Alto)
Female, foster kid and ensemble (Mezzo)
Male, foster kid and ensemble (Baritone)
The production was performed to tracks. A full orchestration of Keys, Guitar, Bass and Drums can be provided.
Piano
JP Thibodeau
Joe Slabe
Lauren Thompson
Leena Gajaar
JP Thibodeau
Rebecca Toon
West Hyler
Jacob Fjeldheim
"The Urban Jungle Book" was commissioned by StoryBook Theatre in Calgary, Alberta, in December of 2015. Artistic Director, JP Thibodeau, wanted a modern interpretation of the Rudyard Kipling stories to be told by a diverse, multi-ethnic cast. The show was cast in May of 2016 and workshops were held in June, October and December to try out the new material as it was written. An hour long, one-act version of the show opened on March 3, 2017, and ran until March 18 with a cast of talented amateur performers. In his review of the current hour-long version in The Calgary Herald, Louis B. Hobson called the show, “powerful and uplifting,” but also felt there is so much potential in it that the writer “…should draw it into a full-length musical.” In the Fall of 2017, The Urban Jungle Book was shortlisted for the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Awards as one of the top three new musicals in the country. Author Joe Slabe always conceived The Urban Jungle Book as a full-length musical, and, in February of 2018, he was given a ten-day residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts to expand the work. The residency was invaluable in expanding the content while tightening the structure and work continues on the full-length version with an eye to a future professional production.
