Adam, Short and Handsome
An adaptation of Sarah, Plain and Tall by P Maclachlin
Written by Mary Beth James, in collaboration with the third grade class of Ms. Linda Ricco, Kelly Elementary School, Lewisburg, PA; May 2001
Act1 On Cahuna da Ricco
A large map (3x5 feet) of the island is displayed high on the left, with a TV monitor and VCR near by. The TV will be used in several scenes for text.
[pantomime parts in brackets]
Scene 1
Cast:
Narrator1 Hannah
Monkeys - 2 or more Ashley, Tyler
Plants and trees(coconut palms?) that can sway in the wind- Emily, Peter, Bobbi
Wind - any children who can do ballet can dress in white and dance like the wind - Kelsey, Katie, Jessica, Claire
Cloud - 2 - Benjamin, Brian
Bicyclists - 3 Ross, Seth, Daniel
Ms Looney - 1 - Ms Ricco
Children in school - Emmy, Charles, Micah, Elise
Narrator: The island of Cahuna da Ricco is in the South Atlantic, far away from anywhere else. Right here. a It’s a very beautiful island with lots of trees, a flowers, and animals. a In addition to the native birds and small mammals, monkeysa were brought here by Dutch and Indian settlers in the late 1800's. The monkeys ran into the rain forest and became wild and are something of a problem today.
[plants sway in the winds - use fans to blow on the audience. Monkeys do mischievous things, toss a few coconuts; Bird songs are heard.]
Warm westerly winds bring lots of rain to theawest side of the island. The high peak of an extinct volcanoa stops the winds and cause great amounts of rainfall;
[have child dressed as cloud child runs from side to side of the stage]
The west side aof the island has many creeks, one huge waterfall and even a fresh water pond. a On the east side of the island, there is a marine research lab where scientists study important secret things. This side of the island is a desert. a Fresh water is pumped here from the rainy side. TURN, FACE AUDIENCE . The islanders raise cows, chickens, and pigs and do some farming. soil is rich and the warm weather means you can grow food all year long.
The beach is totally beautiful and would be a great tourist spot if Chauna da Ricco wasn't so difficult to get to. It's a long boat trip, and no airplanes can land here.
[here a few children pantomime cycling. Maybe a few kids can pedal around the gym, around the audience]
People travel around the island mainly by bicycle TURN AND LOOK AT THE BICYCLE RIDERS There are a few cars and trucks on the island, but gas is so very expensive because it must be shipped from the mainland. Almost everyone lives along a 2 mile strip of the coast on the west side of the island in a town called Kelly-of-the-seven-seas.
Mornings are clear and warm; late afternoon it rains and clears by early evening so you can see the stars. The temperature doesn't vary much during the year, except to be a lilttle bit too hot in the summer - 80 - 100 degrees every day for about a month.
There is electricity on the island. It's made by a small power plant on the west side of the island. The waterfall turns a turbine which generates the power; The power is good, but blackouts do happen. When the power fails, people usually just go home from work and spend the day with their families.
The houses are small, one story bungalow. All of the modern appliances are in homes - clothes washers, and dish washers, video players, tape players, and CD players.
[play music here and have kids sing or dance.]
TV is not available but radio is for a few hours each day and everyone listens to the top 8 countdown at 8. Video tapes are very popular, and everyone on the island has seen movies owned by everyone else, many times.
Children like playground games, biking, hiking, and swimming. They learn many crafts, including weaving with palm leaves and carving shells and drift wood. There is one teacher for the 14 children who live on the island. Children ages 5 to 12 go to school 6 days a week for 6 months of the year. The teacher, Elaine Looney, leaves the island when school is out and goes to visit her family in England.
[show teacher in front of kids, all ages, seated on the floor listening to a story. They are reading sarah Plain and Tall The bell rings, and everyone jumps up and down and runs out the door.]
Our story begins in the spring. Tia, age 5, and her 10 year old brother Koa are waiting for their mom to get home from work.
[here all kids will leave the stage. Use 2 partitions to form the corner of a house., so T+K can sit outside.]
Act 1 - scene 2
Cast - Narrator 1, Tia, Koa, Shelly
Tia and Koa sit outside their bungalow on the sand. They are building in the sand.
Tia: Tell me about the night I was born
Koa: I've told you a thousand times already!
Tia: Just once more, please!
Koa: You were born when we lived in Hawaii. That’s in the Pacific Ocean, half way around the world from here.
Tia: Wow!
******************************************************* Make this into a video tape flash back with just tia and Koa. Tia has nothing to say but can be in the video. Koa can read his part.
Koa: It was warm, and dark, and very windy. Mom said it was time for the baby to come, so I went along to the hospital with Mom, Dad, and our favorite neighbor, Auntie Evie. She wasn't our real aunt, you know, but we didn't have any relatives nearby so we adopted her as part of the family. Mom and Dad went off to deliver the baby while Auntie Evie waited with me forever. I fell asleep. Then Auntie Evie woke me up and we were allowed to see mom and you - you were a wrinkled, screaming red small person. Isn't she beautiful? Asked Dad
(to the audience) . I thought she was the ugliest thing I had ever seen
(to Tia) Yes. Dad, I said, she's beautiful.
Koa: Then Dad said, we're going to call her Tia — it means princess in Hawaiian.
Koa: Do you want to hear about the storm? And trying to save the baby?
Koa: Daddy was very brave. It was the night after you were born. There was another baby born at the same hospital just a few hours later, and that baby was very very sick. He needed blood transfusion to stay alive, but the hospital on Hawaii didn’t have the right kind. Everyone knew that a storm was coming, so the hospital helicopter wouldn’t take the chance of flying from Maui to Hawaii to get the baby. So dad volunteered to go to Maui and pick up the blood. He was sure he could beat the storm, and he said that’s just what he’d want someone to do for his princess, if she was sick.
K: It was a really bad storm - VERY bad. A typhoon. 30 foot waves. Dad’s helicopter crashed onto the beach and coral reef. Dad never came home again, and the baby he was trying to save died that night, too.
****************************************** end the video
T: But daddy did call me his princess, didn’t he?
K: You bet.
Tia: That's me. (sigh) a princess!
Kids move into the house and are joined by their mother.. They can sit at a table or be eating together.
Shelly: How was your day, kids?
T: great. After school we built sand castles and splashed in the waves. Then Koa told me stories about when I was a baby.
Shelly: which one?
T: The one about when I was born, and how daddy named me.
[they eat or continue to play their game. After a short pause]
S: I want to tell you kids about the man I’ve been talking to on the computer. We’ve been writiing for a couple of weeks now and I’ve asked him to come and live here to be a companion for me and a helper for you.
T: You mean a housekeeper?
S: not exactly. Perhaps a husband. And a father.
(a look of surprise and delight appears on the children's faces)
Narrator. The kids are shocked. They thought their mother was completely happy with their life on Cahuna da Ricco, her job, the way they all took care of each other. Koa and Tia did most of the house work and the cooking. Shelly worked hard at the research center, sometimes spending many hours at the bottom of the ocean. But the fact was, they were lonely for a dad.
Shelly: Here's an email I got today from Adam. He’s from Kansas.
Tia: Where’s Kansas, mom?
Koa: I’ve heard of it. In the wizard of OZ
Tia: Is it green there?
Shelly: We’ll it is green, but it’s not OZ. There are lots of farms, and flat land for growing grain and raising cows and pigs. Kansas is just about in the middle of the United States. So he’s from our country, although he’s never visited Hawaii or any island, for that matter.
Koa: Is he coming here? What will he look like? Will he like us? Are you going to marry him?
Shelly: Koa, you ask too many questions. I'd like him to come for awhile and see our island and get to know us. Then we'll see. Here's his letter. (display this on the video screen - someone can read it
Dear Shelly,
I am a carpenter and have lived most of my life here in Manhattan Kansas. It's a college town with lots of students and professors. I never got to college, although I enjoyed my studies in high school.
I'm living right now with my sister Sandy, who is a dress designer, and her two children. Sandy has raised these kids on her own until now, but will be married this summer to a wonderful man who will be a great dad for John and Joanne. It's time for me to have a new life, and I wish for a change of scenery. Kansas is beautiful, with golden fields of grain and clear blue skies, but I want a new and different experience. I would love to see the ocean and the wild animals that live in it!
I have two loves, painting and baseball. I enjoy children and have taught my niece and nephew to draw, paint, and build with wood.
If you think I would fit in with your family, I would agree to come to Cahuna da Ricco for 6 months on a trial basis. I will wait to hear from you and your children.
Sincerely,
Adam McGuire
Shelly: What do you think? (the children go wild with excitement) We’ll write to him tonight, and tomorrow I’ll email our letters to him.
[have Koa sitting at a table typing, maybe on this laptop computer. everyone starts to write and draw.]
Narrator: The next day Shelly emails this letter to Adam, along with a scanned copy of Tia's picture.
[show the picture on the TV. Then scroll this letter by]
Dear Adam,
My name is Koa and I am 10 years old, just finishing the 4th grade. My sister Tia is 5 and she's drawing you a picture. We were both born in Hawaii but now we live in the South Atlantic Ocean on a small island named Cahuna da Ricco. The island is not too big but has both a desert and a rain forest.
I love to swim and snorkel and build things with sand. I'm learning to cook and spend a lot of time babysitting Tia. We both like stories and running games. We have a computer and can sometimes use the internet.
Where do you work? Our mom is a marine biologist. She studies plants and fish and has important work to do. Do you swim? Have you ever seen a dolphin? We swim with the dolphins here sometimes. Do you have any pets? What do you like for supper?
We can hardly wait to meet you.
Your friend,
Koa
Narrator: Koa and Tia can hardly wait for a reply to their letters. In a short 2 days they have heard from Adam.
[scroll this letter on the screen]
Dear Shelly,
Thank you to you and Koa for your wonderful letters, and to Tia for the picture! I've printed it and taped it to our refrigerator.
I have a golden retriever and his name is Royal, after the Kansas City Royals, my favorite baseball team. Royal can swim, but I can't - never really had the chance to learn, I guess. But I will this summer! I've never been to the sea, but have seen a dolphin in an Aquarium. I'm ready now to see one in the wild.
My job for the past 10 years has been carpentry, mostly building cabinets for homes and offices. I made all the cabinets in my sisters house. Sometimes I decorate the cabinets as well. I also like to paint with water colors, especially of the sun on the corn fields. I'm hoping to learn to paint the sunsets and sunrises over the ocean.
I like all kinds of food, but my favorite is pasta, with just about anything on it! Last week Sandy made a peanut butter sauce that was pretty OK! I can hardly wait to meet you. I will be leaving on May12 by plane from Kansas City, flying to Brazil and then taking a boat from there. If all goes well I should arrive the first week in June. You'll know me at the dock because I'll be wearing a straw hat, and I'm rather short, about 5'3". My sister says I’m handsome, but I don’t know about that. Until then I wish you well.
Your friend,
Adam
ACT 2 Adam Arrives
Scene: people on deck of a medium sail boat.
Cast: Narrator 2
Captain
World’s Most Traveled Man, Parke Thompson
His wife, Babette
Adam McGuire
Samuel Tweep (or Deborah Tweep, if you need another part for a girl)
Royal
Crowd of islanders on the dock to meet the boat
Narrator 2: The sailing ship "Lady Bamboo" nears the coast of Cahuna da Ricco, carrying 10 tons of supplies and 5 passengers, and some of them are strange indeed.
There is Parke Thompson, (Parke bows) the World’s Most Traveled Man. Mr. Thompson is a world traveler and is in the American version of the GUNIness Book of world records.
Babette Thompson, his wife (she bows)
Samuel Tweep, (Sam bows) WHO has come along on the trip to see for himself the wandering albatross, the world’s greatest bird.
Adam (adam bows) the carpenter from Kansas who is coming to Cahuna da Ricco to find a new life, and his dog, Royal (Royal barks)
The boat is off the coast, about 500 miles from Cahuna da Ricco.
Adam: We’ll be within sight of land in another day.
Babette: Yes, just think. This will make it 299.
Adam: 299? What?
Babette: 299 countries, silly! Didn’t you know? My husband Parke is the world’s Most Traveled Man! We call him WMTM!! We belong to the CENTURY TRAVEL Club! The club has made lists of all the Countries, states and islands in the world. WMTM, has now visited 298 of the. 307 possibilities. Cahuna da Ricco will make it 299! AND HE SHOULD KEEP THE RECORD AGAIN THIS YEAR!
Mr. Tweep: You’ve been to Ascension Island , then. What was it like?
Babette: I have no idea. We just sat in the waiting room while someone stamped our passport. But we have been there! That is what is important — I didn’t really want to see it anyway!!
ADAM: (to the captain) when will we be able to go ashore.
Captain: Only one day in 6 is fair enough for a landing here. We heard that the Queen Elizabeth 2 was standing off this island just a week ago, but the ocean was too rough to bring anyone ashore. We’ll try each day for a week, and if the water doesn’t cooperate, we’ll just move on.
WMTM: What! What! What!! I’ve come all this way! I need to get a stamp in my passport That shows I’ve been to Cahuna da Ricco, or I’ll not set the record this year. I’m in the Guinness book of World Records, you know. I’m the World’s Most traveled Man! You must let me set foot on the island, even if it kills me!!
Captain: Now don’t go thinking about jumping off my ship Mr. Traveler. I’m the captain here and you’ll do what I say.
Narrator. As the boat approaches Cahuna da Ricco, a storm comes up
[here the cloud comes out again. Several students hold long pieces of blue cloth or sheets, or crepe paper if all else fails, and "wave" it ; students can gently squirt some water on the audience]
Captain: Passengers are advised that we are entering a heavy rain squall!
[children use percussion instruments to make rain sounds and thunder]
Narrator: The sun is blotted out. The sky becomes gray with black clouds. The ship pitches from side to side. A wave crashes onto the deck, and most of the passengers hurry below.
(Babette, birdwatcher, and Adam hurry off stage)
WMTM: It will not storm! I will get to Cahuna da Ricco! I MUST I MUST!! (he runs off the deck as the boat pitches again suddenly.)
Captain: Welcome to the Southern Atlantic Ocean!
Narrator: Adam wonders what awaits him on the island. He doesn’t want to see a bird, or get a stamp in his passport. He wants to see his new family. Family. What a special word. Will they like him? Will he be too noisy, or too bossy? Will be miss Kansas too much? Will he be too short?
Narrator: The next day is clear and we land at the capital, the only settlement on the Island, Kelly-of-the-seven-seas.
Scene 2 on the shore of Cahuna da Ricco.
[crowd cheers as the boat lands. There are flags and streamers]
Captain to the crowd of islanders assembled: We’re happy to be here. We have 5 passengers and loads of cargo, so if you’ll let us come ashore we’ll start unloading. We’ll be here overnight and the visitors will leave tomorrow shortly after sunrise.
ACT 3. Welcome to Cahuna da Ricco
Cast: Narrator 3, Adam, Shelly, Koa, Tia, another child
Narrator3: Adam arrives at the bungalow. Tia and Koa are outside on the porch, waiting, as mom and Adam walk up, carrying Adam’s suitcase and duffle bag. Royal trots along behind
Shelly: Tia, Koa, this is Adam McGuire.
Adam: And this my dog, Royal.
Tia: Hi (Tia grins shyly and hides behind her brother)
Koa: How do you do. Nice to meet you Adam. (Koa extends his hand and shakes with Adam)
Adam: It was quite an adventure getting here, but I’m glad I came. It’s so beautiful! Was I ever glad to get off that boat! we had quite a storm the other night.
Koa: Would you like to come inside and see our house?
(Tia remains shy and still tries to hide behind her brother. She peeks around him, peek-a-boo style)
Narrator: The family goes inside. They show Adam his room and give him time to unpack a little, wash up, and they make him a pot of tea.
Shelly: Would you like a cup of tea?
Adam: That sounds great. Then I can show you some of the things I brought along for you.
(they drink tea, share some cookies)
TIA: What’s your favorite kind of cookies? I love chocolate chip, but we’re out of the chips right now. Can you bake cookies?? I like to help. But I don’t like to clean up.
Koa: Tia, you don’t like to help, you just like to eat the batter.
Tia: That’s helping. There’s less to wash up at the end.
Adam: Do either of you play baseball?
Koa: Well, I played when I was little and used to live on Hawaii. Here there’s really no place to play. Some guys tried to play cricket once, over on the dry side of the island, but never baseball.
Tia: I like to play basketball
Adam: Well, since baseball is my favorite game, I brought you some things to help you learn about my favorite sport. Koa, here’s the beginning of a baseball card collection. The picture on the front are of players, and on the back are numbers that tell about what they can do best.
Koa: Wow! I’ve heard about these, but I’ve never seen them before. Thanks!
Tia: Can I have a card, too?
Adam: I brought you a coloring book about baseball, and also this story book about a girl who plays baseball on her town’s team and end up being a famous player at the Olympics!
Tia: how did you know I love to color! And I want to learn to read, too. Will you read me this story tonight so I can dream about spaceball?
Koa: baseball
Tia: that’s what I said
Shelly and Adam laugh at the children. Adam has also brought some baseball videos, some for the family, and some for himself and Shelly.
Adam: I also brought us some videos — we can watch them in the winter when we get snowbound and school gets cancelled! (big laughs) You do get snow here, don't you? And for you, Shelly, this window decoration (made of wheat). It's made where I come from.
Child2: Come on, Adam, come in the water with me! I'll show you how to ride the waves. Come on - you can hold my hand.
[ child takes Adam to the sea, where Adam demonstrates that he's not afraid of the water anymore. He gets right in, and the child instructs him on using the boogie board.]
Act 4 Lost!!
Cast: Narrator 4, Adam, Tia, Koa, Royal, Shelly
Narrator: Everyone loves Adam. He gets lots of work to do on the island, doing carpentry and teaching painting and drawing to the children. He's working on his sunrise paintings, and never tires of looking at the sea.
[Adam sits daydreaming on the beach]
Narrator: But he does get lonely. He wants to talk to someone who has known him for longer than 2 months. He wants to see a ball game. He wonders how the Royals are doing, whether his neice and nephew are getting to go to any of the home games.
Adam loves the island, and the islanders. He loves Koa and Tia, and he’s beginning to love Shelly, too. But he misses his sister — 3 months now have gone by since he left Kansas, and that’s the longest he’s ever been away from his sister Sandy.
Adam decides he needs some time alone, to think things over. Maybe he should go back home when the mail boat comes next month. Maybe a hike through the forest would be good — give him some time to think. Maybe he could hike to the dry side of the island to see Shelly at work while the children are at school.
[here the forest and cloud, monkeys, etc from the first scene can come back to create a space for him to hike]
Narrator: Adam takes two water bottles, some guava, and a chocolate bar. He starts out on his hike. There is a blackout — a power failure — only Adam doesn’t know about it since he’s in the forest. He continues to walk to the Marine Research Institute. When he arrives there, everyone has gone home on their bikes. He has enjoyed his walk though, and has used the time to sort things out. He wants to stay on Cahuna da Ricco. He will ask Shelly to marry him. But he also wants to make the island a little bit more like home, and he wants his sister's children, John and Joanne, to come to visit — maybe for an entire school term. Tonight he’ll ask his family — wow, that sounds great — his family!
Meanwhile, at the Power plant, something has gone wrong. Did one of those naughty monkeys put something into the generator again?? There is a power blackout, and everyone heads home for a "vacation" afternoon.
[monkeys run about on the stage tossing coconuts, hopping and dancing. Adam wallks off one side of the stage, and K+T walk on from the other; scene changes to the front of the house]
Narrator: Before long the children arrive at the bungalow, home from school since there was a blackout.
Tia: I’m home! Adam, I’m home!
Koa: Where’s Adam?
Tia: I don’t know. Maybe he’s in the garden, or in the shop working on a cabinet.
Koa: No, he’s not. I just went past there, and the shop is dark and empty.
Tia: Of course, Koa. It’s dark — we have no power and we won’t for a long time.
Koa: at least an hour.
Tia: Where’s mom? I want mom. I want Adam! Maybe he went swimming and drowned! Maybe he went sailing alone.
Tia: Maybe he ran away, or went for a walk and was eaten by, by a monkey!
[Shelly enters the bungalow. The children run to her, screaming that Adam is missing.]
Shelly: Calm down, kids. I'm sure Adam is fine - he's probably left us a note here on the table.
Koa: No, Mom, there's no note.
Shelly: I'm sure there's a simple explanation, so just take it easy. Let's have a snack and I'll read to you till Adam gets back.
Tia: I don't want you to read. I want Adam to read. And if we read now he'll miss some of the story and I don't want him to miss some of the story.
[Tia throws a little tantrum here, stomps, pouts, etc.]
Shelly: OK, skip the reading - let's just watch Rookie of the Year
Koa: Mom, there's no power, that's why you're home from work - remember??
Shelly: Oh, right. Let's play Sorry, then.
[they take out the game and start to play on the floor Tia continues to fuss, and Shelly and Koa look more and more concerned as time goes on. Can we have a clock that moves ahead quickly? Maybe one that fits over top of the TV screen?]
Narator: Meanwhile, Adam arrives at the research center to find everyone gone, the power off. He knows that everyone will wonder where he is, so he’ll just take the short cut home, along the shore line. About half way home he sees something unusual on the sand — a large box. As he gets closer he notices the large letters UPS on the side — must be a package that got lost in the ocean somehow. He approaches it — its’ really heavy and wet, but the sender is the Champs Athletic factory! He decided to open it, even though it’s probably worthless now.
Adam opens the box and to his delight it’s filled with baseball equipment! There are a dozen balls, wet but otherwise OK. Three baseball bats, wet but new. There are booklets and pamphlets, completely ruined. And then a bag, with a bag inside, with a bag inside with — baseball caps inside! And they aren’t even soggy or mildewed! The box is too heavy to carry or drag, so he just takes one ball and one hat, and just about flies back to town. He now has an idea — he will make Cahuna da Ricco his home — and he will make them a baseball field!
Act 5 Happily ever after
Narrator5: Adam receives a warm welcome back in town — everyone is there to start searching for him, and instead they celebrate his safe return from the forest. He shows them the treasure he’s found, and several people agree to hike out there tomorrow with a wheelbarrow to collect the rest of the equipment. The children and adults say they’d love to learn to play this game they’ve heard so much about.
[entire class goes to the side area of the gym and starts to play baseball. They pantomime the game like this
Put down the bases - Emmy, Brian, Katie, Bobbi
Outfielders throw the ball Jay to Seth to Dan to Jay (and keep repeating)
Infield - Brian roll to Bobbi, then Emily, then Katie, and keep repeating
Monkeys: Kelsey and Ashley cheer by 1st base; Hannah, Tyler, Jessica stand to left of home plate with bat
Royals: Claire Adriena - cheer by 3rd base
Pitching: Benjamin to Emmy and back again; Ross stands by home. After 4 warm up pitches then
Charles - takes up place by 2nd base
Ross: Play ball!
Jessica gets on 1st base, Tyler on 3rd, Hannah to plate to bat.
Infield - chatter; cheerleaders cheer. Jessica and Brian play on-base, off-base. Pitching goes like this:
1st pitch - ball, low and outside
2nd pitch - ball, high and inside - Hannah ducks and backs away
3rd pitch - call strike
4th pitch - hannah does slow motion pitch swing. Roller to Bobbi. Jessica - slow motion to 2nd base; Hannah - slow motion to 1st base; Bobbi - look to Brian, throw to Emmy; Emmy - tag Tyler, throw to katie
Ross: OUT!
Tyler: Excuse me, sir, but I belive I was safe.
Ross: You're OUT. But you can bat now if you like.
Tyler: OK
[All reset for the new batter] First pitch - ball - low cheers
second pitch - Tyler does a slow swing - ball hit is long to left center field Tyler, Hannah, and Jessica take 3 steps and FREEZE
Narrator: Everyone loves baseball as much as they love Adam. A few of the adults get together and get an idea about leveling off a field on the dry side of the island to make a REAL baseball field. [here Elise attaches the baseball field to the map] Everyone learns to play, and everyone sings "Take me out to the ballgame…"
[When the class gets to the line "1, 2, 3 strikes, Micah walks across the stage with the sign: "PS. They all lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER"]
Applause and curtain call