 | An easy, flexible, 25-minute musical play for grades 1-5. Comes with the script, audio recording (with both a vocal and instrumental version of each song), and a teacher's guide. No music or drama experience needed! |
 | ✓ Funny script ✓ Catchy tunes ✓ Flexible casting ✓ Dumb jokes
Frog wants to fly above the canopy...just once! Come along through the layers of the rainforest and meet many of the animals who call it home. Learn more! |
MusicalGr. 1-525 Min.
Musical Play: “Rumpus in the Rainforest”
Complete Script & Audio: $45 (other items also available)
We sell wonderful, short, funny plays and musicals for use in your classroom, after-school program, drama club, music class, summer school program, homeschool, and any other place where kids can thrive by participating in theater! If you are not familiar with us or how to use theater to teach, check out our Q&As.
Synopsis
Rumpus in the Rainforest gives students a musical tour of the various levels of the jungle and reinforces in fun fashion the importance of the rainforest. Frog desperately wants to get off the jungle floor and see the sky---but who will help him climb above the canopy? The Jaguar loves the jungle floor, the Sloth family keeps falling asleep, and the Howler Monkeys have gone nuts.
Preview the script and songs!Key Concepts
Rumpus in the Rainforest is a great complement to your curriculum resources in elementary school science. And, like all of our plays, this show can be used to improve reading, vocabulary, reading comprehension, performance and music skills, class camaraderie and teamwork, and numerous social skills (read about it!) -- all while enabling students to be part of a truly fun and creative experience they will never forget!
Aligned with national standards! View the standards and vocabulary.Publication Info
Author: Ron Fink (Composer) and John Heath (Book and Lyrics)
ISBN:
978-1-886588-14-1
© 1999
Bad Wolf Press, LLC
6 reviews for Musical Play: “Rumpus in the Rainforest”
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The Show
We want you to know what you're getting, so the cast list and first third of the script are available here! Bad Wolf shows are written for flexibility and can be edited however you like to meet the needs of your actors, school, curriculum, parents, astrological chart, latest whim, etc. If you have questions about the portions of the script not shown, please contact us.
Casting
Flexible casting from 8-40 students. Use as many Sloths, Monkeys, Ants, etc. as desired. Actors can easily play several roles, or a single role can be divided between multiple actors. All parts can be played by any gender.
CHARACTERS:
Frog
Toucan
Jaguar
Sloth Family
Boas
Explorers
Howler Monkeys
Army Ants
Shaman
Storytellers
and a Chorus made up of all students who are not playing roles at the
time.
Script
This is the first one-third of the script.
(CHORUS is seated on floor. FROG enters, staring longingly up towards the sky.)
STORYTELLER: Once, not very long ago, in the Amazon rainforest, there lived a frog. This is his story – the story of a frog with an impossible dream that came true.
STORYTELLER: The leaves are so thick in parts of the forest that less than ten percent of the sunlight reaches the jungle floor. Creatures may spend their whole lives without ever seeing the sun. There, on a log, lives the frog with his dream.
Song 1
Listen to
a sample!
FROG:
Just once I gotta see the sky
Just once above the trees
Just once I gotta get up high
Just once beyond the leaves.
Just once I wanna have some fun
I've got to get a plan
Just once I wanna feel the sun
Just once I wanna tan.
CHORUS:
He's tried leaping like a lizard
He's tried jumps of every sort
But he's stopping all that hopping
'Cause he's a hundred feet too short!
FROG:
Just once I wanna leave my log
To see if skies are blue
Just once I wanna be a frog
Who casts a shadow too.
Just once I gotta see the sky
Just once above the trees
Just once I gotta get up high
Just once beyond the leaves.
CHORUS:
He's tried leaping like a lizard
He's tried jumps of every sort
But he's stopping all that hopping
'Cause he's a hundred feet too short!
(TOUCAN enters, wing/arm in a sling)
STORYTELLER: The Frog's friend the Toucan has stopped by to see what Frog was singing about. Toucan hurt his wing the day before-and it still hurts.
FROG: Hello, Toucan. Can you fly me up to see the sky above the trees?
TOUCAN: I can't – my wing doesn't work. Every time I try to fly I just buzz around in a circle until I get dizzy.
FROG: Then how will I ever get up to the sky?
TOUCAN: Here comes the Jaguar. Maybe he will give you a lift up the tree.
(JAGUAR enters)
FROG: Hello, Jaguar. Can you take me up to see the sky above the trees?
JAGUAR: Don't be silly! Why would you ever want to go up there?
Song 2
Listen to
a sample!
I'm a cool cool cat
This is where it is at
Here on the jungle floor.
Where the plants smell sweet
And there's critters to eat
Here on the jungle floor.
Who needs more?
Who needs more?
Who needs more than the jungle floor?
Tell me, man, what are you looking for?
Who needs more than the jungle floor?
There are bugs to trounce
Oh it's so fun to pounce
Here on the jungle floor.
It's so dark and damp
What a great place to camp
Here on the jungle floor.
CHORUS and JAGUAR:
Who needs more?
Who needs more?
Who needs more than the jungle floor?
Tell me, man, what are you looking for?
Who needs more than the jungle floor?
I'm a cool cool cat
This is where it is at
Here on the jungle floor.
Where the plants smell sweet
And there's critters to eat
Here on the jungle floor.
(JAGUAR exits)
STORYTELLER: The Frog was disappointed, but still determined. He spotted a family of sloths up in the branches of the tree.
FROG: Hello, Sloths. Can you take me up to see the sky above the trees?
Song 3
Listen to
a sample!
SLOTHS:
I'm a sloth
I would help you up this tree
I'm a sloth
But I'm lazy as can be
I'm a sloth
So before I can agree to your request....[a good pause]
...I need to rest.
(SLOTHS fall asleep).
FROG: Hey, wake up!
SLOTHS:
I'm a sloth
I'd be down there in a blink
I'm a sloth
But I'm just too tired to think
I'm a sloth
Why just yesterday I blinked and ate some sap...
...I need a nap.
Did you see that?
DId you see that?
I'm getting set to go
Did you see that?
DId you see that?
I just moved a toe.
(THEY fall asleep again.)
TOUCAN: Hey you guys, wake up!
SLOTHS and CHORUS:
I'm a sloth
I'd come bounding in a blur
I'm a sloth
But I find it hard to stir
I'm a sloth
I've got algae in my fur two inches deep... ...I need some sleep.
(SLOTHS exit)
(This concludes the first one-third of the script.)
The Songs
Click on any song to listen to a snippet. Click the cart icon to purchase any track for $1.
Standards
Common Core and Other National Standards
Science
- National Science Content Standard C and D for K-4th
- National Science Content Standard C and D for 5th-8th
Language Arts
- Common Core Reading Standards for Literature: K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Reading Standards: Foundational Skills:
- Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards: Comprehension and Collaboration - K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Language Standards: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use - K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th
- Common Core Standard 10: Range, Quality & Complexity: Range of Text Types for K-5th
National Core Arts Standards
- Music - Anchor Standards 4-6
- Theater - Anchor Standards 3-6
- Dance - Anchor Standards 1-6
Vocabulary
critters
trounce
pounce
dither
slinking
fracas
ruckus
cavorting
motherload
vault
maraschino cherry
chums
clout
eagerness
pharmacy
Rainforest Terms
jungle floor
sap
algae
weasel
wild pig
hawk
cacao bean
flora
canopy
shaman
bulb
Vocabulary From Stage Directions
longingly
furiously
shrieking
M. Oden (verified owner) –
Rumpus in the Rainforest is one of my favorites. Engaging music, fun characters, story with a message and lots of humor as well. And as a pianist I like having the sheet music available!
Amy Trayer (verified owner) –
My K/1 class performed Rumpus in the Rainforest as an end of the year culminating activity as we had been studying the rainforest for several months. I haven't stopped smiling!! We practiced the songs every day in class for about 3 weeks. I had readers and non-readers learn the songs with ease. I loved how there were just the right amount of lines to be memorized by students of this age. I have to admit, I was nervous going into it, but as always, the students rose to the occasion! They WANTED to practice during our literacy time and choice time. They asked me for copies of scripts so they could read lines together. I put the CD of songs in my listening center so the younger students could listen to the music. They were signing and humming the lyrics for weeks. The engagement was so high! The feedback I got from parents and other teachers was so positive. Everyone was so impressed with how the students performed. The songs were so cute and age appropriate. From a teacher standpoint it was very do-able! I kept the costumes and set very simple. I was so proud of my class. They looked and sounded great!! Now my whole grade level wants to do a show next school year. Thank you Bad Wolf Press!! The arts are so important and what a great way to expose our younger students to musical theater!
Amy Trayer
K/1 Teacher
Easterbrook Discovery School
San Jose, CA
K Frost (verified owner) –
My first and second grade students have performed various musicals written by Bad Wolf Press for the past fifteen years. I am always amazed at how well each performance turns out to be. The students love singing the songs, the length of each play is perfect for the age and time I have to rehearse and prepare, and there is the bonus of academic content that aligns with what I am teaching. Thank you Bad Wolf Press for a wonderful 15 years of theatrical fun in the classroom!
Julianne Youngblood (verified owner) –
I love this show! My kids have learned a lot about the animals and facts about the Rainforest. They are having a ball singing the songs and learning their lines. It wouldn’t be a complete school year, in my class, with out a Badwolf Production. Our entire school looks forward to the 3rd grade musical. Thank you for years of musicals!
Stacey (verified owner) –
Our third and fourth grade drama group was able to rehearse and perform this in just 4 weeks. The music was fun and upbeat. The lyrics were easy to learn. Everyone was involved as much or as little as they wanted to be. The message about thinking of others and friendship was well developed. The cast worked as a team to help each other be successful. The best part of all is that both the actors and the audience had fun.
I heard over and over again from parents, staff and administration that this was the best play ever.
Cheryl S (grade 2) (verified owner) –
This was my first time trying out a musical and it was big hit! The script was easy to follow and it came with great tips for putting on a successful show. The students loved the music and the parents really enjoyed watching them perform. I hope to try this again next year!