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QUEEN for a DAY:
a Tale of Tales
of the Arabian Nights by Arjuna Greist
music by Susan Hulsman Bingham
Main Story Characters: Scene Announcer, Narrators, Scheherazade, King Vlassik, Guten, Tag, Herald, Sisters Winken, Blinken, and Nod, Grand Vizier, Villagers, Reporters.
Story Within the Story Characters: Narrators, Zadania, King Kalsav, Tuten, Gaag, Sisters Ninken, Linken, and Jaad, Dragon, Villagers.
piano and synthesizer with simple percussion (i.e., triangle, tambourine) treble chorus made up of the actors optional generic Middle Eastern garb for royalty and villagers; minimal props Arjuna Greist English Harmonic and melodic with occasional Middle Eastern flavor/tonalities five Worthington Hooker Elementary School performance at Wilbur Cross High School, New Haven, CT, June 10, 2004 35 minutes Ellen Greist Susan Arnold
THUMBNAIL SYNOPSIS: In the ancient Balkan city of Volcania, newly-ascended and completely crazy King Vlassic has announced that he will take a new bride every day and have her executed the following morning. The Grand Vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, develops a courageous plan to use her unparalleled talents as a storyteller to save the women of Volcania, and perhaps to change the very nature of her problematic society. Our story celebrates not only the cleverness of one brave woman, but the power of an idea to inspire monumental change and defeat tyranny.
Piano/vocal/percussion score of QUEEN FOR A DAY: $75. Price includes shipping within the US; it also includes performance rights and permission to make sufficient copies of the score for cast members and accompanists for one season.
Composer's comment: a lively, funny new libretto with a line for each of as many as fifty children. Easily adjustable to a smaller-sized group as well. Premier was performed in June of 2004 to a delighted audience.
