To celebrate the release of Lulu the Broadway Mouse by Jenna Gavigan on October 9th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Jenna, plus 7 chances to win a copy of Lulu the Broadway Mouse!
"These are a few of my favorite things!"
- The Sound of Music
by Jenna Gavigan, actress, and author of Lulu the Broadway Mouse
"A standing ovation for Lulu! This delightful debut serves up a sweet and sassy mouse's-eye view of life in the footlights from a real Broadway insider. Encore, please?"
―Heather Vogel Frederick, author of the Spy Mice, the Mother-Daughter Book Club, and the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series
"Jenna manages to capture the drama and tension and excitement of the theatre without ever losing the magic and joy of what it feels like to be on Broadway. Lulu's burning desire to be onstage was exactly how I felt when I was younger, and reading this book reawakened that feeling in me!"
―Tony-nominee Jonathan Groff
- The Sound of Music
by Jenna Gavigan, actress, and author of Lulu the Broadway Mouse
If you read the above quote and went, “Duhhhhh that’s from The Sound of Music” then this is the right blog post for you! If the quote (song lyric, really) or the name of the musical are new to you, then this is also the right blog post for you! Welcome to the wonderful world of the theatre.
My assignment was to list 5 musicals I’d recommend to kids or 5 musicals I loved as a kid, but I’m going to go ahead and make a hybrid list, if you don’t mind. I’m just going to list 5 musicals and tell you about them. Why I loved them as a kid, why I love them now, why I think they’re right for you to see… that sort of thing.
1. Guys & Dolls – The first show I ever saw on Broadway! I saw it when I was in the second grade, and while, yes, the plot can be a bit “adult,” it’s an old-fashioned musical with fabulous songs and is generally appropriate for kids. Back when we used to rent movies from Blockbuster, I’d always rent the movie version of Guys & Dolls when I was sick or sad or home from school for some reason. (When I got my wisdom teeth out, at 18 years old, I rented Guys & Dolls. Also, if you’re like, “What’s Blockbuster??” get thee to Google, ASAP.)
2. Our Town – The coveted number 2 spot goes to a play, rather than a Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder in 1938, is set in the first decade of the 20th century in a fictional town called Grover’s Corners. The narrator of the play, known as the Stage Manager, follows the town’s citizens as they go about their day to day lives. Sounds simple, and it is, in a way. But it’s also relatable and honest and heartbreaking. This play is an excellent choice for schools because it can be done with minimal sets and costumes, the cast is huge and there are a lot of kids in it. I’m in my 30s but I’m still hoping my youthful appearance will someday allow me to portray the play’s teenage heroine, Emily Gibb, whose “goodbye” monologue is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre you’ll ever see or read. I was lucky enough to see this show at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, starring Paul Newman as the Stage Manager. (Also, if you’re like, “Who’s Paul Newman?” GET THEE TO GOOGLE, ASAP.)
musical, because I want to drive home the point that not all theatre involves music! You don’t need to be able to sing in order to perform on stage!
3. Matilda – I feel like it’s important to tell you that this musical is based more on the book by Roald Dahl and less on the movie version of Matilda. If you’re used to the movie, you’ll still love this show, just prepare yourself for differences, mainly in tone and intensity. I saw this musical on Broadway at the Shubert (where Lulu the Broadway Mouse is set!) and it absolutely blew me away. First of all, I love a show with kids. These kids blew me away. Beautiful actors, insanely versatile singers, full-out dancers. Unreal. I’m sure there are clips of them on YouTube performing at the Tony Awards, so you should go watch them right now. Kids aside, the show is just incredibly well-crafted, the music is interesting and moving and witty, and the performances from the adults—especially the Trunchbull—are quite something. The Trunchbull, played by a grown man, does a summersault. End scene.
4. Hairspray – Oh, how I wanted to be in this show. (Can I still be in this show??) Perhaps you saw the NBC Live version or the movie with Zac Efron? (Or perhaps you’ve seen the cult-classic 1988 movie upon which the musical was based?) Well, I’m here to tell you that there was absolutely nothing like seeing that show live, on stage. Full disclosure: one of my best friends (the fabulous Chandra Lee Schwartz, a former Galinda in Wicked) was in the ensemble on Broadway, then played the role of Penny on tour and in Las Vegas, so I’ve seen the show many times. But I never tired of it. The energy and timing and catchiness of it. Electric. It’s the kind of show musical theatre kids dream of being in. (I speak from experience because I still dream of being in it.)
5. The Sound of Music – I had to end where I started, right? Here’s the thing, though. This show—first, this movie—started it all for me. (The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid. I credit these movies for my childhood declaration of “I want to be an actress.”) I was a little, little kid, I’m talking under the age of 5, when my parents introduced me to The Sound of Music. At the time movies were on videotape, and it’s a long movie so it was on two videotapes. My parents bought a separate VHS rewinder contraption so I could rewind part 1 while I watched part 2 and then transition seamlessly back to part 1. (Only child, FYI.) My mom would record me singing “Do, Re, Mi.” I wanted to be Gretl Von Trapp more than I wanted an extra scoop of chocolate ice cream. The love between me and The Sound of Music was real, which made it all the more exciting when, in the sixth grade, I had my first ever audition for a Broadway show, and the show was… The Sound of Music. The role of Brigitta. Spoiler alert: I didn’t get the part. (But I got heartbreakingly close!!) Whenever the movie’s on TV, usually around a holiday, I can’t resist watching it. It sports, arguably, one of the top 5 most beautiful, intelligent* scores of all time. Needless to say, great show for schools. Great show for you to audition for at your local community theatre. Great movie to watch when you want to watch a great movie.
*One more thing on The Sound of Music. If you’re anything like I was as a kid, you fast-forward through the Mother Abbess singing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” It’s okay. I get it. The song can be boring. But… give it a chance. It’s all about dreams taking time. Identifying your dreams, working hard for your dreams, fighting for your dreams. (I’d just like to point out that that’s what Lulu the Broadway Mouse is about, too!)
In conclusion, have a wonderful time at the theatre, everyone. Be it on Broadway, at your school or somewhere in-between.
My assignment was to list 5 musicals I’d recommend to kids or 5 musicals I loved as a kid, but I’m going to go ahead and make a hybrid list, if you don’t mind. I’m just going to list 5 musicals and tell you about them. Why I loved them as a kid, why I love them now, why I think they’re right for you to see… that sort of thing.
2. Our Town – The coveted number 2 spot goes to a play, rather than a Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder in 1938, is set in the first decade of the 20th century in a fictional town called Grover’s Corners. The narrator of the play, known as the Stage Manager, follows the town’s citizens as they go about their day to day lives. Sounds simple, and it is, in a way. But it’s also relatable and honest and heartbreaking. This play is an excellent choice for schools because it can be done with minimal sets and costumes, the cast is huge and there are a lot of kids in it. I’m in my 30s but I’m still hoping my youthful appearance will someday allow me to portray the play’s teenage heroine, Emily Gibb, whose “goodbye” monologue is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre you’ll ever see or read. I was lucky enough to see this show at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, starring Paul Newman as the Stage Manager. (Also, if you’re like, “Who’s Paul Newman?” GET THEE TO GOOGLE, ASAP.)musical, because I want to drive home the point that not all theatre involves music! You don’t need to be able to sing in order to perform on stage!
*One more thing on The Sound of Music. If you’re anything like I was as a kid, you fast-forward through the Mother Abbess singing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” It’s okay. I get it. The song can be boring. But… give it a chance. It’s all about dreams taking time. Identifying your dreams, working hard for your dreams, fighting for your dreams. (I’d just like to point out that that’s what Lulu the Broadway Mouse is about, too!)
In conclusion, have a wonderful time at the theatre, everyone. Be it on Broadway, at your school or somewhere in-between.
*****
Blog Tour Schedule:
October 8th – A Dream Within A Dream
October 9th – BookhoundsYA
October 10th – Crossroad Reviews
October 11th – Christy's Cozy Corners
October 12th – Word Spelunking
October 15th – Beach Bound Books
October 16th – Java John Z's
October 9th – BookhoundsYA
October 10th – Crossroad Reviews
October 11th – Christy's Cozy Corners
October 12th – Word Spelunking
October 15th – Beach Bound Books
October 16th – Java John Z's
Ratatouille meets Broadway in this charming new middle grade novel about a little mouse with big dreams.
Lulu is a little girl with a very big dream: she wants to be on Broadway. She wants it more than anything in the world. As it happens, she lives in Broadway's Shubert Theatre; so achieving her dream shouldn't be too tricky, right? Wrong. Because the thing about Lulu? She's a little girl mouse.
When a human girl named Jayne joins the cast of the show at the Shubert as an understudy, Lulu becomes Jayne's guide through the world of her theatre and its wonderfully kooky cast and crew. Together, Jayne and Lulu learn that sometimes dreams turn out differently than we imagined; sometimes they come with terms and conditions (aka the company mean girl, Amanda). But sometimes, just when we've given up all hope, bigger and better dreams than we'd ever thought could come true, do.
"A standing ovation for Lulu! This delightful debut serves up a sweet and sassy mouse's-eye view of life in the footlights from a real Broadway insider. Encore, please?"
―Heather Vogel Frederick, author of the Spy Mice, the Mother-Daughter Book Club, and the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series
"Jenna manages to capture the drama and tension and excitement of the theatre without ever losing the magic and joy of what it feels like to be on Broadway. Lulu's burning desire to be onstage was exactly how I felt when I was younger, and reading this book reawakened that feeling in me!"
―Tony-nominee Jonathan Groff
About the Author: Jenna Gavigan, a fourth generation New Yorker, grew up dreaming of Broadway. At age sixteen she made her Broadway debut in Gypsy, opposite Bernadette Peters. Since then she's appeared in a half-dozen films, on more than a dozen television shows, and on east and west coast stages, most recently Off-Broadway in the world premiere of Straight. Jenna graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Creative Writing, where she focused on fiction, television, and screenwriting. She lives in a teeny tiny Manhattan apartment with her husband, Kevin. This is her first novel.
GIVEAWAY
- One (1) winner will receive a copy of Lulu the Broadway Mouse by Jenna Gavigan
- US/Canada only
