Princess Bee and the Royal Good-Night Story
Once upon a time, there was a book . . .
It was my very first picture book, and, as with much of my work, it was about the importance of shared stories. It was delightfully illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith. Like so many other books, it enjoyed good reviews, but, all too soon, it went out of print. Years passed, I wrote many other books, but I never forgot Princess Bee.
One day, in a far-off land of princesses, I attended a remarkable performance by the Oily Cart company and fell in love with the concept of Theater for the Very Young.
My first attempt was an adaptation of another picture book, HERE COMES GOSLING. Then I picked up PRINCESS BEE AND THE ROYAL GOOD-NIGHT STORY and got a strong feeling that it could become a charming musical for the very young. I wrote the book and song lyrics. And I began my search for a composer to do the music. That search went on for years. The right person would be someone I could trust who knew music and theater . . . who understood very young children . . . and whose work I respected. I knew I would find that person. Eventually, someday, soon . . .
And then, I found him. The very talented Richard Biever, of State College, PA, who directed the first workshop presentation at Singing Onstage on July 9, 2014, has completed the score. The cast for his staged reading was wonderful, the audience was enthusiastic, and Rich and I learned a great deal about the script and continued working on it.
Princess Bee, her mum the Queen, her dad the King, the Royal Big Sister, and the Royal Big Brother at last came to life on stage, and this story has not just a happy ending but continuing happiness. The first full production occurred on Friday, September 7 and 8, 2018, at the Lancaster Public Library. A second production toured campsites in Michigan in the summer of 2019. A third was one of 5 scripts chosen for the Central Florida Community Arts Youth Theatre Festival, performed live without an audience and virtually streamed in October, 2020. Photo of this masked, socially distanced production above.
To hear me read the story, with a little help from Reading Dog Gracie and Friday Cat, visit my YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/LW2HIjqSTPc.
And here’s more information about the script:
CHARACTERS:
MUM – the Queen, Bee’s mother
PRINCESS BEE – the youngest of the family, always has a favorite stuffed toy nearby
DAD — the King, Bee’s father
THE ROYAL BIG SISTER – the oldest child, usually wears a baseball cap and glove
THE ROYAL BIG BROTHER – the middle child, carries a toy sword and shield
NOTE: BEE’S stuffed toy might be a puppet that she manipulates to respond sympathically as needed.
An additional “Lady-in-Waiting” mimed character was added for the Lancaster Library production. There could be more servants in Bee’s world and they could sing, as desired.
Though this is a multigenerational story, it has been successfully performed and toured by a university-level cast.
TIME: Once upon a . . .
PLACE: The Royal Palace. BEE’S bed up center. Royal breakfast table and chairs down left.
SONGS:
“Princess Beatrice, Better Known As Bee” – spritely (full cast at opening and reprised at curtain call)
“Once Upon a Time” – a lullaby (MUM and BEE; later reprised with full cast)
“There’s So Much to Do When You’re a Princess” – lively at first, then reprised with growing exhaustion (BEE)
“The Bad Night Story” – a song for tossing and turning (BEE)
“Soon Isn’t Soon Enough” — a bit frantic, but fun (ROYAL BIG SISTER, ROYAL BIG BROTHER, and DAD)
“Listen With Your Heart” – a gentle, calming song (DAD, BEE, ROYAL BIG BROTHER, ROYAL BIG SISTER)
NOTE: The songs are available for listening at https://soundcloud.com/royalgoodnight/sets/princess-bee-and-the-royal
PLAYING TIME: about 35-45 minutes, depending on staging.
SYNOPSIS: When her mum, the Queen, leaves on a trip to Goodness-Knows-Where for three whole days and three whole nights, Bee frets over missing her wonderful good-night stories. The Royal Big Sister and Royal Big Brother take turns filling in with stories of their own, though Bee protests that that’s Mum’s job and, anyway, their stories are too short. Mum never, ever runs out of story before Bee falls asleep. At last, Bee’s dad, the King, makes a suggestion that inspires Bee to search for the wonder of Mum’s stories deep within herself. “I cannot fall asleep without listening to Mum’s stories. But maybe if I listen very, very hard, I will hear one.” And she does.
For more information or a copy of this script, please email me at sandyasher@gmail.com.
SANDY ASHER 