Shikara
The forest is a place where magic happens.
It is where fears are confronted, and where romance blossoms. The tiger still rules – but not for long. His mortal enemy, the Shikara, is cutting a swathe through the forests of India, and only one tiger can save the day. His name is Fraidy Cat.
"As a composer, you show enormous promise-- you have a wonderful gift for melody, great musicality, a good sense of how to use a chorus to make a song interesting; in short, I feel you have the potential for a real career as a theatre composer. Lucky you -- such talents are rarer than you know."
-- Stephen Schwartz, composer of Godspell, Wicked and Prince of Egypt.
"It is polished and stylish and knows what it is doing... This is great fun... I think that this musical shows huge promise... The music is well shaped and the story is heart rending... Clearly Mel has a genuine understanding of writing for the musical theatre."
-- Judges, the Quest for New Musicals.
Shikara is a new musical by Canadian-born writer and composer Mel Atkey, whose musical A Little Princess was acclaimed by the New York Times for its “lovely music”. It was short-listed for the Vivian Ellis Prize, the Ken Hill Prize and the Quest for New Musicals.
Book, music and lyrics by Mel Atkey. Short-listed for the Quest for New Musicals, the Vivian Ellis Prize and the Ken Hill Prize. Produced on University of Toronto Radio in 1988, featuring Philip Eckman, Tanya Austin, Gerald Smuin, Frank Blanch, Laura Rosch, Kate McNeil, Mary Black, Terry Barna, Jessica-Snow Wilson and Sharon Meade. Workshopped in Vancouver, 1981, directed by Shel Piercy. Single released of "Far Away" by Janice Jaud, received international airplay.
Production requirements:
cast of 22 (13 male, 9 female) To read a synopsis of Shikara, please click here.
To download a .pdf file of the script, please click here.