THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

Book, music & lyrics by Irita Kutchmy. Based on the novel by C.S. Lewis.

You are about to enter the magical land of Narnia, the land behind the wardrobe door where animals talk, trees can walk, a white witch covers the landscape with snow and bewitches you with Turkish Delight, and where a mighty lion rescues you whenever you get into trouble. C.S. Lewis' first tale of Narnia is loved by children and adults the world over and now comes to vibrant life on the stage in Irita Kutchmy's musical adaptation. Just open the door. You'll never believe what you'll find.

STORY

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, four young evacuees from war-torn London, arrive at a rambling old country house, home of the eccentric Professor Kirk and his sharp-tongued housekeeper Mrs. Macready. The children are shown to the spare room, which is empty but for a large wardrobe and, while the others go off exploring the house, Lucy opens the wardrobe, pushes through the fur coats and finds herself by a lamppost in a snow-covered wood. Befriended by a faun (Mr. Tumnus) who appears suddenly, she learns that she is in the strange land of Narnia, where it is permanently Winter, but never Christmas, thanks to a spell cast by the wicked White Witch.

When Lucy returns from Narnia and tells the others of her adventure, they initially refuse to believe her story, but Edmund follows her into the wardrobe and meets the Witch, who promises to make him King if he leads his brother and sisters to her castle. Finally Peter and Susan also arrive, by which time the powers of evil have gained the ascendancy, the faun is under arrest for treason and the Witch's enemies are all being turned to stone statues.

Aslan the lion (Lord of the Wood) returns to Narnia to defeat the Witch and enlists the children's help, but Edmund betrays them to the Witch and, in so doing, forfeits his life to her by the law of the Deep Magic. Aslan decides to take Edmund's place and is tortured and killed by the Witch, only to be saved by the Deeper Magic, because he is willingly taking the place of a traitor. All of the stone statues are liberated, Father Christmas comes back, the Witch is finally defeated and the children are crowned as Kings and Queens of Narnia.

Many years later, they rediscover the lamppost and, pushing their way back to Professor Kirk's spare room through the fur coats, find to their amazement that time has stood still while they have been away.

STAGING THE SHOW - Cast, Band & Sets

Casting

The Humans

The Four Children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy)
Professor Kirk and Mrs. Macready
Tourists

The Inhabitants of Narnia

Aslan the Lion
The White Witch
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver
Mr. Tumnus (a faun)
Maugrim (a wolf)
A Robin
Other Animals
Father Christmas
Rabble
Chorus

Instrumentation

There is a small band accompaniment, with the following instruments:

Soprano Saxophone doubling Clarinet, Flute and Piccolo
Bass
Piano
Drums

(you may have one player to play each of the wind instruments, or two players, one on saxophone doubling clarinet, the other on flute doubling piccolo)

The vocal score is used as the conductor's score and contains cues to help the musical director. There is no full score available.

Production & Scenery

At its most minimal, the set could be a backcloth with hills to denote Narnia. The hills would be green but with white material Velcroed on until the change of seasons. During the scenes in Professor Kirk's house, the backcloth would not be lit. if it is possible to hang a gauze immediately down stage of the cloth, Narnia Could be blacked out completely during these scenes. Cut-out trees, snowy on one side and green on the other, on bases that could be turned easily, would be a useful addition. The lamppost, a vital piece of scenery, could also be a tree on the other side, and turned whenever the scene moved to another part of Narnia.

The spare room could be a small truck, pushed on-stage from Stage Right, with a wardrobe and, if feasible, a small flat window at the back. The entrance into Narnia could be accomplished by climbing into the front and out of the back of the wardrobe and the truck pulled off into the wings. Likewise, Mr. Tumnus' cave could be a similar truck Stage Left (of course, these positions can be reversed). This truck, with the Mr. Tumnus' props cleared away, could also be the Cave on the way to the Stone Table.

The opening scene and Edmund's monologue in Act Two could both be either before a front cloth or, if there are no flying facilities, then the house tabs, suitably lit, would suffice.

Scenes and Settings

Act 1

Scene 1 The Hall of Professor Kirk's house
Scene 2 The Spare Room
Scene 3 The Wood in Narnia
Scene 4 Mr. Tumnus Cave
Scene 5 The Spare Room
Scene 6 The Wood in Narnia
Scene 7 The Spare Room
Scene 8 The Wood
Scene 9 Mr. Tumnus Cave
Scene 10 Another Part of the Wood

Act 2

Scene 1 As Act 1, Scene 10
Scene 2 The Road to the Witch's Castle
Scene 3 The Witch's Courtyard
Scene 4 A Cave on the Way to the Stone Table
Scene 5 The Stone Table
Scene 6 The Wood
Scene 7 The Spare Room

Musical Numbers