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The Jungle Book
John Hartoch
The Jungle Book
by Briandaniel Oglesby
Synopsis
Mowgli's search for home takes the spotlight in this new imagining of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale.
In this living storybook, Mowgli struggles to fit in with the wolves, the monkeys, and even the humans on his journey to discover where he belongs.
Along the way, he must contend with the mesmerizing Kaa and the terrifying Sheer Khan, but with the help of his friends Baloo and Bagheera, Mowgli's search ends happily.
Masks, puppets, and contemporary elements like a trip to the Starbucks in the cell-phone-obsessed city make this new adaptation of The Jungle Book a unique and delightful one.
Press Reviews
"Thoughtful-yet-active and entertaining for all-ages family show, with enough cleverly inserted jokes to keep the grownups on board."
— Sacramento News and Review
Characters
| Character |
|---|
| Characters |
| Baloo A bear, a teacher of wolf cubs, and our narrator. |
| Bagheera A panther, generally gruff and grumpy to everyone but Mowgli. |
| Mowgli The man's cub, raised by wolves. He struggles to fit in. |
| Raksha Mowgli's wolf mother. Raksha is Mowgli's wolf mother. She's protective and strong. |
| Akela Head of the Seeonee pack; the largest and oldest in the pack. |
| Shere Khan A man-eating tiger with his eyes on taking over the wolf pack. |
| Kaa An aggressive boa constrictor happy to eat anyone who crosses his path; with his dance and eyes, he hypnotizes his prey. |
| Alpha, Beta, and Ralph Young wolves of the Seeonee wolf pack. Alpha is their leader, and he doesn't much care for Mowgli. Ralph is a bit dopey. |
| Dee-Dee A wealthy city-dwelling human; she aims to ”˜civilize' Mowgli. |
| Duke (Dee's husband) Dee-Dee's husband, and you know he's oil money. |
| Kite A vulture. |
| Ensemble |
| Wolves (optional): Only Alpha, Beta, and Ralph have lines, but you can add a few more wolves to the pack. |
| Monkeys (or “Monkey People” or “Bandarlog”) have a frenetic energy and don't like rules; one moment they crown Mowgli king, and the next they're throwing Mowgli into the snake pit. |
| Snakes (or “Poison People”) live in this snake pit. |
| Citizens have too much to do, with their work and cell phones and Starbucks. |
| Kites (optional): Additional kites can take Ralph's skin in Chapter 5. |
| Casting Note Doubling is possible, though not required. Although the gender pronouns in the script follow the corresponding characters in Kipling's The Jungle Book, these are flexible. When produced at Big Idea, Beta, Kite, and Kaa were all changed to female. |
| No Doubling |
| Baloo, Bagheera, and Mowgli. |
Publication
The Jungle Book is a play written by Briandaniel Oglesby and published by Playscripts .
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