Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers
Available for Production
ORCHESTRATION:
Piano with Optional Hand Percussion
CHORUS:
None
ROLES:
4 Singers
MONKEY (Tenor)
FRANCINE (Soprano)
MONKEY QUEEN / LORD TIGER (Mezzo Soprano)
MONKEY KING / CROCODILE / LADY TIGER (Baritone)
DURATION:
45’
Opera in One Act
HISTORY:
Commission by Houston Grand Opera and Developed at ALT:
2016
World Premiere:
2017
Houston Grand Opera HGOCo | Houston, TX
Additional Productions:
2019: Seagle Music Colony
2021: Tri Cities Opera
“This little gem may have been composed with children in mind, but its creators, composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist David Johnston, know that being kid-friendly doesn’t mean dumbed-down. Drawing from sources that range from Indian and Chinese mythology, William Blake and Bollywood to Ethiopian jazz, the libretto was sophisticated and fresh, while the music was witty and eclectic. You tapped your toes and found yourself singing along whenever ‘Crocodile Crunch’ or ‘Monkey Royal Family’ was reprised.”
Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers fuses monkey stories from India, China, and West Africa to tell the story of Monkey and his brainy sister Francine. They must learn to work together and use their smarts to escape the hungry Crocodile and outwit the greedy Lord of the Tigers.
With a mix of musical styles from Bollywood, opera, and Ethiopian jazz combined with relatable, contemporary language and characters, the opera conveys a timely message of unity – that together, respecting individual differences and strengths, anything can be accomplished. Originally written for school touring programs, Monkey and Francine is ideally suited for a wide variety of performance spaces.
Synopsis
In the Royal Monkey Palace in the Royal Monkey Kingdom in the middle of the world, Monkey and his sister Francine are the smart, mischievous children of King and Queen Monkey. Their parents are proud of young Monkey, who will one day become King, while their feisty daughter will always be their sweet Francine. But Francine is no ordinary princess - she loves to read and she is very smart - she wants to run the army and sail the seven seas one day! When our story begins, King Monkey and Queen Monkey are worried because the Tigers have been stealing from them - gold, food, even bananas. They warn their children not to talk to Crocodiles or go into the forest alone, but the kids are too busy playing their favorite game, “Crocodile Crunch.”
Later that evening, Monkey and Francine are getting ready for bed. Monkey spies the moon out the window and fantasizes that it is a huge, fluffy dumpling for him to eat. Francine tries to explain that it’s only the moon, but Monkey climbs out the window into the tree to fetch it anyway when the branch suddenly breaks and he lands on the riverbank right next to a hungry Crocodile. The scheming Crocodile tells the famished Monkey about a special place right across the river where he can find all the food he desires, and Monkey jumps on the Croc’s head for a ride across the water. Once they are out in the river, the Crocodile admits there is no special place: he lured Monkey out into the river to eat his monkey heart! The quick-witted Monkey explains that this cannot be, as he left his monkey heart behind in a tree on the riverbank. Crocodile agrees to take him back, and Monkey climbs the tree and back to safety while Crocodile snoozes by the water. Monkey frantically explains to Francine how he narrowly escaped, and Francine hatches a new plan - they will skin the sleeping Crocodile and use the Crocodile suit to play Crocodile Crunch. She fetches the good kitchen knife and gives it to Monkey, who shimmies down the tree and steals the Crocodile’s skin. However, when he returns, something is amiss. The room is empty, the books are torn, and Francine is gone! One clue is left behind - Francine has underlined “Tiger” on a page torn from one of her books to tell him the Tigers have kidnapped her. Monkey packs a bag and his new Crocodile suit and sets out to rescue his sister.
Meanwhile, Francine is tied to post outside the City of Tigers. Never one to give up so easily, she remembers books she has read on knots, magic, and martial arts and attempts to free herself. When these tricks don’t work, she sings about how much she will love and miss her family if she has to be stuck in the City of Tigers forever. As he searches the forest alone, Monkey also sings about how he loves his sister and knows he will get to see her again someday. When he finally finds her, Monkey tells Francine how he got the Crocodile suit and Francine tells him how the evil Lady Tiger kidnapped her. Monkey frees Francine, but when it is time to decide which way to go they argue so loudly that they don’t hear Lady Tiger coming back to take them BOTH prisoner. She brings them to the Lord of Tigers for judgement. Lord Tiger gets caught up in singing about how smart and great and beloved he is by all the tigers, and he thanks Francine and Monkey for coming to be his snack. But clever Francine has another plan and tells Monkey to give her the Crocodile suit and follow her lead. She tells Lord Tiger that if he only sets them free, he will be saved from an evil monster who has come to destroy him. (She read in a book once that tigers are afraid of Crocodiles!) Monkey catches on and plays along, warning Lord and Lady Tiger that they have invited a monster into their house. They insist that the Tigers must return the gold they stole from the monkeys and let Monkey and Francine go or they will surely be eaten. Of course, Lord and Lady Tiger find this “joke” very funny and don’t believe the young monkeys... until Monkey secretly slips on the Crocodile suit and eats Francine! The terrified tigers see this and pandemonium ensues. The tigers are so scared they give back all the gold they have stolen, and Monkey and Francine (now together in the Crocodile suit) escape back to the Royal Monkey Palace. When King Monkey and Queen Monkey ask them where they’ve been, Monkey and Francine proudly show them how they brought back all the stolen gold and saved the Monkey Kingdom from the City of Tigers. King Monkey proudly states how his brave son will be King one day, but Monkey stops him and explains that he and Francine will rule together. The king is shocked - this has never been done before. Monkey tells his dad that Francine is just as strong, smart, and fast as him and when they work together, they can do anything! He asks Francine to co-rule with him, she accepts, and the whole Royal Monkey Family sings of their lasting bond and lives happily ever after.
Media
Video
Press
Materials
Piano Vocal Score
Archival Production Videos Available Upon Request
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