On Sat 6th June The Civic will throw open their doors for ‘The Boy with Green Hair’. This work-in-development concert version of a NEW musical by Jody Trehy is being showcased as part of Cruinniú na nÓg.
Jody Trehy- lyrics and composition
Paul Higgs- composition and orchestration
Mick Gordon- book and direction
This event is FREE Booking Essential
Duration: 135 mins. One interval
Age Suitability: Children 8+
‘The Boy with Green Hair’
TREATMENT
Synopsis of the story:
‘The Boy with Green Hair’ was first an old technicolor film made by RKO in America, (dir. Joseph Losey: 1948) and subsequently a play staged in the early 1950’s. It tells the magical tale of a young WW2 orphan, Peter, who lives with a distant relative called Gramp. One night, Peter’s hair mysteriously turns green. At first his hair is the cause of great amusement until people in the town become afraid that his peculiar condition will spread to their own children.
One day, after being bullied at school, Peter is alone in the classroom. Suddenly he hears strange voices and when he looks up, he sees other war orphans, from many other countries, magically appearing. They explain that, although difficult, having green hair is a wonderful thing, as it will serve as a constant reminder to all the adults of the world that war is very bad for children.
Peter is greatly comforted by the news and races back to town to tell everyone. Unfortunately, the adults will hear nothing of it, and instead, shave his green hair off. Peter, heartbroken and bald, runs away but is soon picked up by two policemen in a neighbouring town. A psychologist is called to examine him, which turns out to be Gramp in disguise. Gramp is very sorry for what has happened and vows, from now on, to always help Peter tell his unique story to the world!
The Adaptation:
With permission from the rights holders, RKO Stage, New York, our creative mission is to adapt the original:
- Into a work of inspirational musical theatre
- For families and especially children.
- Retaining the original story, characters and setting.
‘The Boy with Green Hair’ is set in a mythical, post war America of hope and dreams, a place of white picket fences and uniformly pressed aprons. Of keystone cops and baking grandmas. A ‘naive’ fairy-tale place but also a place of conformity, where difference can be seen as dangerous.
The green-haired boy himself, is the symbol of difference. When first conceived, he stood for mistreated war orphans. Today his symbolism is universal: he is the different child in the classroom, the unwanted immigrant, the bullied homosexual, the patronized eco-activist. He is our inner fear of being shunned and rejected. And he is our opportunity to stand courageously in the face of an often, careless world. Musically, the adaptation will be unconstrained by time. Policemen can sound like Officer Krupke and bullying children can rap. The adaptation is most concerned with the emotional journey of our green-haired hero and with the flowering of his self-belief.
Inspiration:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
The Boy With Green Hair is a nostalgic parable urging us to act on our finer instincts. A wholehearted plea for love to banish fear, by showing empathy for what it is: the true angel of our better nature.
email: jodytrehy@gmail.com
