The Princess and the Pauper
“Fantastic! Actually, miraculous. The Princess and the Pauper feels contemporary, moral, and filled with humor. Some songs are funny, for both adults and children; others are complex and beautifully emotional. King Henry VIII’s song is golden and hilarious.”
Switched Identities. Grand Adventures. And you've never met a king like Henry VIII.
Our show is based on Mark Twain's 1881 book The Prince and the Pauper. In 1500's London, a pauper and the crown princess swap roles for fun, but by accident the princess ends up outside the castle gates. Now dressed in rags, the princess can not get back in, while the pauper is trapped in the castle, afraid to confess who she is, as the penalty for impersonating royalty is death.
Each has adventures as they attempt to adapt to their new environment. Soon the king dies, making the pauper the next queen-to-be. The princess escapes the slums to the English countryside, where with a group of bandits she plots how to gain entrance to the castle, and the pauper sees whether she has the courage to reveal herself for who she truly is. We end with a grand infiltration of the castle, and see whether these two can or will switch back to their original roles.
View sample script here by clicking on red text. Script is copyrighted, and only here for viewing purposes.
