Jonah (The Runaway)
2002 · Triopia High School
A wholly original musical with book, music, and lyrics by Ken Bradbury, Jonah — also carried under the working title The Runaway — reimagines the ancient story of the reluctant prophet against the bright neon of 1950s America. Here Jonah is a teenager who would rather bop to the Eisenhower-era jukebox than answer a divine call, and Harold and his band of angels are the heavenly messengers tasked with chasing him down. Bradbury moves the chase from the streets of small-town America to Nashville, New York City, the Miami pier, the deck of the Dawn Princess, and at last down into the belly of a very large fish before the runaway finally turns toward home.
Bradbury's private journal, Something Fishy This Way Comes, traces the show's birth from Christmas Day 2001, when he drove to a family dinner "rolling Jonah over in my head," through weeks of wrestling whether to write Jonah or Job. Tech director Chuck West and Patty Clinton were already sketching a giant fluorescent fish in the teachers' lounge before there was a script, and Bradbury credits a late-night nudge — "Since I'd shut up, God spoke and told me I'd begin the play tonight" — for finally setting the opening strains of music to paper. The 1950s setting, he wrote, was chosen simply because it was "such a great time to musicalize."
The result is a high-spirited rock-and-roll comedy, full of doo-wop trios, surfin' voices, sea nymphs, a jazz-Russian dance break, and a whale interior populated by singing "fishies" and the menacing Orc. It is at heart a story of running, being found, and being pulled back out — a message wrapped in poodle skirts, beach blanket choreography, and a healthy dose of Bradbury's signature humor.
Musical Numbers
Act I
- The Eisenhower Bop — The Teens
- Whatever Happened to Harry Truman? — Fred & Norma
- Ooo-Bah Doo-Bah / Crazy in Love — Suede, Taffeta, Chiffon, the Teens
- Angel Eyes — Harold's Angels
- You Can Run But You Can't Hide — Harold's Angels
- Bandstand Rock — The Teens
- Don't Run Away — Harold's Angels
- Left Here Alone — Peggy, Alvin, Janice, Jane, Joanne
- Sail Away on a Cruise — The Dove Princesses
- You Can't Run Away from the Man — Harold's Angels
Act II
- Wipe Out — The Orchestra
- Ballet de Orca — The Sea Nymphs & The Filets
- At da Bottom of Da Sea — Glubber, Jonah & da Fishies
- Come on, Jonah! Come On! — Orc
- Save the Boy — Peggy & the Angels
- He'll Pull You Out — Harold, Jonah, The Angels, and the Intestinal Track
- The Russo-American Bee-Bop — The Jazz/Russian Dancers
- Don't Run Away (reprise) — Alvin
- The Gillette Telegram — Harold's Angels
- Tel-Star — The Orchestra
- Put the Pedal to the Metal — Harold, The Angels & Ensemble
Cast
- Jonah — Drew Snodgrass
- Harold — Matthew Snodgrass
- Peggy — Callie Phelps
- Fred — Aaron French
- Norma — Stephanie Beard
- Alvin — Josh Crews
- Mykel (Angel) — Jackie Clinton
- Gabriella (Angel) — Alison Wessler
- Raphael (Angel) — Laura Mattes
- Joanne — Mallory Rahe
- Glubber (voice) — Daniel West
- Captain Beluga — Ryan Hoots
- Judith / Gloria — Jenny Schone
- Jane / Fanny / Mary Beth — Jodi Schone
- Janice — Sara Wankel
- Darlene — Katie Carls
- Eileen / Ruth — Shanita Mickens
- Beverly — Jessica Deaver
- Lonnie — Sean Anderson
- First Mate / Burt / T.V. Announcer / Preacher — A.J. Wessler
- Marlene — Nicole Huner
With a large ensemble of Teens, Teen Dancers, Fish Dancers, Sea Nymphs, the Piggly Wiggly Congregation, Jazz/Russian Dancers, Belly-of-the-Fish Singers, the Dove Princesses (Suede — Jessica Strattman, Taffeta — Julie Kleinschmidt, Chiffon — Margaret Jones), and the body of Orc.
Production Notes
Jonah (The Runaway) was the Triopia High School all-school musical, written and directed by Ken Bradbury and staged in the spring of 2002. Bradbury wrote the book, music, and lyrics, building the show through the winter of 2001–2002 even as the fish and scenery were being constructed.
- Tech Director: Chuck West
- Sound: Steve Eisenhauer
- Vocal Directors: Christine Smith & Chuck West
- Choreography: Callie Phelps, Alison Wessler, Jodi Schone, and Ken Bradbury
- Costume Design: Patty Clinton, Connie Charlesworth, and Gale Wessler
- The Band: Jill Briggs (keyboard), Kurt Heller (percussion), Chuck West (guitar), Jon Carls (keyboards), Jerry Kirbach (bass)
The production drew on a deep bench of Triopia performers, many of them seniors who had grown up through earlier Bradbury shows such as Holy Moses, Children of the Rainbow, Viva Ester, and Joshua, as well as the school's traveling troupes (A Perfect Mess, A Silverstein Explosion, and Kaleidoscope Kids). Auditions were held over a Friday and Saturday, with singers learning a song rehearsed by Chuck West and then dancing in groups taught on the spot by the choreographers.