A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Heidi

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  10w, 8m, 1girl(s), 1boy(s)

Book and Lyrics by Shaun McKenna / Music by Stephen Keeling / Creative Development by John Havu / Idea and Orchestration by Stefan Mens / Based on the novel by Johanna Spyri

HEIDI presents a parallel tale of the world-famous novel intertwined with the life of its creator, Johanna Spyri.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    10w, 8m, 1girl(s), 1boy(s)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Literature), Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Heidi

Details

Summary

HEIDI presents a parallel tale of the world-famous novel intertwined with the life of its creator, Johanna Spyri. Heidi, the mountain orphan is delivered to her grandfather, who really doesn’t want the responsibility of raising the child until her aunt takes Heidi away from him and delivers the girl to a wealthy family in Frankfurt to be the playmate of the crippled girl, Klara. Under the strict tutelage of the disapproving governess, Fräulein Rottenmeier, Heidi learns to read and write, but her heart longs for her mountain home, her grandfather and the goatherd, Peter. In the Johanna part of the story, we learn what drove her to write the novel – love, and a promise made to her dying son amidst a loveless marriage. We discover that Johanna and Heidi are alter egos who heal one another in their most desperate moments. HEIDI is a sophisticated musical suited to audiences of all ages, is highly entertaining, and, above all, filled with soaring emotions.

History
HEIDI is part of the HEIDI trilogy by Shaun McKenna and Stephen Keeling and was first produced in 2005 and 2006 at the Seebühne Walenstadt. Later, the musical was also performed at the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau and the Bernhard Theater, Zurich. The world premiere production was highly praised by the press, including the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the Tages-Anzeiger, Zurich, for the musical's intelligence, wit and emotional depth.
Doubling is indicated below where there is an important thematic link between the characters.

BOY / YOUNG PETER
GIRL / YOUNG HEIDI
WOMAN / DETE
OLD MAN / THE ALPÖHI 
JOHANNA SPYRI
HEDWIG KAPPELLER
DOCTOR*
HOUSEKEEPER / FRÄULEIN ROTTENMEIER 
BERNHARD SPYRI
SPYRI
BÄRBEL*
GRETE*
BRIGITTE*
PASTOR*
HEIDI / YOUNG JOHANNA
PETER
PETER’S GRANDMOTHER*
KLARA SESEMANN / ANNA-ELISA
TINETTE*
SEBASTIAN*
DR KANDIDAT*
HERR SESEMANN*
ENSEMBLE – Villagers, Servants, Citizens of Frankfurt

* Other characters who may double or be part of the Ensemble.
  • Time Period 19th Century
  • Features Period Costumes

Media

"An uplifting and emotional musical." - Basler Zeitung Kulturmagazin

"Great emotions instead of kitsch – global and timeless." - Sonntags Blick (Zürich)

"The intertwining of the world-famous story with the little-known life of Johanna Spyri has proven to be a coup." - SonntagsZeitung (Zürich)

"It doesn’t get more emotional than this." - Blick (Zürich)

"A very intelligent piece of entertainment." - SüddeutscheZeitung (Munich)

"Heidi entranced the audience." - Neue Luzerner Zeitung (Lucerne)

"Two hours of the finest in musical theatre entertainment." - Bündner Tagblatt (Chur)

"A great musical." - Sarganserländer

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Authors

Shaun McKenna

Shaun McKenna is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and lyricist. In 2021 his original thriller Rocky Road was nominated for the new OnComm award, created by the Offies for outstanding theatre work streamed during lockdown. Shaun was one of the core writers on th ...
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John Havu

John Havu was born in Chicago and following university degrees in education and music began a career as a musician in symphony, opera, ballet orchestras in the US, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and Germany, as well as in show orchestras for Chita Rivera, Henry Mancini, Lionel Ha ...
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Stephen Keeling

Born in 1966 Staffordshire, England, Stephen trained at Goldsmith's College, University of London, gaining an honours degree in music. He was chosen by Sir Cameron Mackintosh to study with Stephen Sondheim during Sondheim’s tenure at Oxford University as the Visiting Professo ...
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Author

Stefan Mens

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