Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (stage show)

Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, temporarily retitled Jim Henson's Emmet Otter for its second run, is a stage musical adaptation of the 1977 television special Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, first performed in 2008. The show was developed by Goodspeed Musicals and the Jim Henson Company, with a book by Timothy A. McDonald and Christopher Gattelli, with Paul Williams both revisiting his score for the 1977 special and writing new songs exclusively for the musical. The production features a mix of live actors and stage puppets built and refurbished by the Jim Henson Company.

Synopsis[]

The musical closely follows the plot of the television special. One difference is the addition of a conflict where Alice Otter is initially prevented from performing in the talent contest by Harrison Fox due to arriving too late. Where the 1977 special was narrated by Kermit the Frog, the musical is narrated by fellow amphibian Doc Bullfrog.

Production history[]

The musical opened at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut on December 7, 2008, running until January 4, 2009. Opening night of the show included attendees Jane Henson and Jerry Nelson (Nelson having been the original puppeteer for the title character), and the Goodspeed Opera House went on to honor Paul Williams with the Goodspeed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre in 2010.

It returned to Goodspeed for the following holiday season, running from December 5, 2009 to January 3, 2010. For the second run, the show's title was changed, and shortened, from Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas to Jim Henson's Emmet Otter.^[1]

While further mountings were planned, the production encountered legal troubles that prevented it from returning to the stage.^[2] In the interim, puppets from the show were featured at the Jim Henson's Musical World concert at Carnegie Hall in 2012. Yancy Woodchuck and Doc Bullfrog also made appearances at the 2013 Puppeteers of America National Puppetry Festival at Swarthmore College, performed again by David Stephens and Tyler Bunch, respectively. A majority of the original cast members and puppeteers reunited for a one-night only concert at 54 Below in New York City on December 15, 2015, with Paul Williams and Marilyn Sokol in attendance. Unlike the Goodspeed Opera House run, the show ran without an intermission.

Following the resolving of legal issues in 2019, a reading for the musical was held in New York City in May 2019 for a projected fall 2020 premiere, but this was ultimately delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]^[3]

The musical received its New York debut in 2021 (again under its full title), running at the New Victory Theater from December 10th through the 26th, in a new production by much of the same creative team. The production was originally intended to run until January 2, 2022, but it was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An on-demand streaming option was also made available from December 17 to January 2. Christopher Gattelli returned to direct and choreograph the production, with puppet supervision by John Tartaglia and puppets by the Jim Henson Company. These include new puppet versions of Emmet, his friends, Ma, and Pa Otter (the latter being shown in puppet form for the first time).^[4]^[5] The musical was intended to have a remount at the New Victory for the 2022 Christmas season,^[6] but was not included in the venue's 2022/2023 schedule.

The musical played at Chicago's Studebaker Theater for the 2023 holiday season. Originally promoted to open from November 14 through December 31, the show had its first preview on November 17th and formally opened on the 20th.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Songs[]

The One Bathing Suit - Emmet & Ma
Waterville - Mayor Fox, Residents of Waterville
At the Music Store - Mrs. Mink (2008-2009 only)
Ain't No Hole in the Washtub - Emmet & Ma
Trust - Jane & the Squirrels (2008)/Emmet & the Squirrels (2009 onwards)
When the River Meets the Sea - Ma & Emmet
Barbeque - The Jug Band, Ma, & Hetty
Alice Keep Dreaming - Pa
Barbeque - Yancy
Born in a Trunk - Mrs. Mink
Brothers - The Jug Band
Our World - Ma
River Bottom Nightmare Band - The Nightmare Band
Brothers in Our World - Jane (2008 only), Ma, Emmet, & the Jug Band
When the River Meets the Sea (Reprise) - The Company

In addition to small revisions to his existing music, Paul Williams wrote four new songs: "Waterville", led by Harrison Fox as he introduces the town of Waterville and its residents; "At the Music Store", a short piece featuring Mrs. Mink that was cut after the 2009 Goodspeed Opera House run; "Trust" a song performed by a group of Squirrels; and "Alice Keep Dreaming", a ballad performed by the spirit of Pa Otter. Williams also reinstated and wrote an additional verse for "Born in a Trunk," a song written for the original special but never filmed, sung by Mrs. Mink at the talent contest.

Differences from the special[]

In addition to the extra songs, other changes were made in adapting the musical from the hour long television special into a two-act—later one-act—musical.

In one significant plot development, Alice Otter arrives to the talent contest too late to sign up, leaving her to be encouraged by the spirit of Pa Otter with "Alice Keep Dreaming": she is eventually allowed to join the contest when John Deer (a new character created for the show) loses his performance slot after being frightened by the spotlight and running away.
The character of Yancy Woodchuck was merged with the fruit stand owner, while Old Lady Possum's role was expanded, gaining the name "Penelope" and also serving as judge and accompanist for the talent contest.
Supporting characters such as Will Possum and James Badger were either reduced to background roles or removed completely, with their roles in the story given to other characters.
The acrobatic squirrel characters' role was also expanded, featured in several short transitions throughout the musical as they attempt to procure a Christmas tree, and encouraging Emmet to put a hole in the washtub in the song "Trust". They are joined by the new character Madame Squirrel, portrayed as their mother who serves as their leader for their talent contest act.

The most significant addition, used for the two Goodspeed Opera House runs, was a framing device featuring two new characters: Russ and Jane, a contemporary father and daughter who read the storybook together one Christmas Eve. For the original run, in a move similar to The Wizard of Oz and Labyrinth, Jane ultimately finds herself within the context of the story itself: she participates in the talent contest at the encouragement of the Squirrels in "Trust", gives up her slot in the talent contest for Alice after the latter misses the deadline to sign up, and encourages Alice and the jugband boys to combine the songs "Brothers" and "Our World" into "Brothers in Our World". This framing device was altered for the 2009 run of the show so that Jane and Russ' story were kept separate from the Waterville plot, with Jane only briefly interacting with the Squirrel characters in a brief fantastical reprise of "Trust." The storyline was eventually dropped altogether for the 2015 concert presentation, and the musical is now narrated by Doc Bullfrog as of the 2021 production.