Book: Patricia Knop, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Gale Edwards
Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics: Jim Steinman
Royalties: R&H Theatricals
Synopsis: Based on the novel by Mary Hayley Bell and subsequent Richard Attenborough-produced film, Whistle Down the Wind follows the fortunes of a fugitive caught between the prejudice of adults and the innocence of the young. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, together with Patricia Knop and Gale Edwards (co-book writers with Andrew Lloyd Webber) reset the original story in Louisiana in 1959. Whistle Down the Wind revolves around the time and place where the word teenager was invented. Swallow, a 15 year-old-girl growing up in America’s deep South in the fifties, discovers a mysterious man hiding out in a barn. When she asks who he is and the first words he utters are “Jesus Christ”, it’s as if all her prayers have been answered. Swallow and the town’s other children vow to protect the stranger from the world that waits outside – the townspeople who are determined to catch a fugitive hiding it their midst. As fantasy and reality collide, Swallow is torn between the two and begins to discover who she is and where she is going.
Ratings: Language: 10+
Adult Content: 10+
Violence: 13+
Pay attention to: Tire Tracks and Broken Hearts, A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to Waste, there is an intense scene between Boone and Swallow in the second act, second act calls for a gun, arson is depicted in the second act.
Flexibility- All changes must be approved in advance.
Production Notes: Large production. Large cast. Requires strong singers who can belt. Script calls for a motorbike. Barn is set on fire.
Music Notes: Large pit.
Breakdown (link is to R&H Theatricals full breakdown of books)