---
from “Louisiana
Red Riding Hood” (1990)
1) “Little Red from Louisiana”
Our debut song from our
debut show!
When asked by Kathy Barnett
of the Esplanade Mall in 1990 if “we could do a puppet show,” we
said“yes”....without even having a thing built for portability!
(We were the same people who did the stationary shows at “The Puppet Castle”
in Storyland, City Park!....thus the beginning of PPP....& we still
build their puppets to this day!!) This song also features
our debut PPP comedienne/songstress, Miss Carmen Rose!
(Its melody gets “recycled” a few times throughout the decade....in different
guises : tracks 8 & 24!)
back to the top
---
from “Jacqueline and the Beanstalk”
(for Storyland
in City Park, 1989; PPP revival : 1997)
2) “My
Daddy Won’t Take Me There”
The historic Storyland in
City Park had its first (and only) “original puppet-musical-comedy” back
in 1988....which was the prototype, of course, for
Porta-Puppet Players. Showcasing our
most favorite
“child,” Ms. Soline McLain as “Jacqueline.”
3) “Just a Little Something”
chants our wizened old “saleslady”
(special guest- artist, Pauline Prelutsky), who swaps
Jacqueline’s birthday gift for
those “magic seeds!”
4) “Fancy Meeting You
Up Here”
non-chalantly tweets a passer-by
Blue Bird, as our heroine makes her high-ascending trek atop the seemingly
never-ending Beanstalk into the heavens! Featuring PPP favorite
Julie (“Renee`”) Tolivar as our winged wonder..
5) The “Queen
of the Kingdom”
is, of course, our “giant-ess”
in the sky (it being an all-female show!)
The song, puppet, and its persona, is inspired by
.... and patterned after
… her famous voice :
local musical-comedy super-
star, Miss Becky Allen!!
back to the top
---
from “DePaul da Pirate” (1991)
6) “I
Am De Paul (da Pirate from da Sout!”)
declares our brazen
swashbuckler, written for the Jefferson Parish Libraries, when we were
asked to do a theme of “Books... the Treasure of Learning.”
It still remains one of our funniest and most popular shows to date!
7) “Stella the State Bird”
is the “lady with all the
answers,” waltzes our beaucoup- cajun “Willougby the Wal-a-rus.”
A great way to teach just what kind of bird is our “state bird” is.....and,
consequently, a sneaky set-up to a hearty adult laugh near the end of our
comedy : after just hearing her voice and not seeing her.... the entire
audience is enticed to scream out her name to call her out !! (“Stellaaaaaaahhh!”)
8) “Ethel
Mermaid”
This throw-away gag (suggested
to us by fellow Puppet- Player Jason Bornstein) was too good
just to have her come on....and off !! “What the hay,”
we thought, ”let’s just go ahead and have her sing like Merman,
too!!”
back to the top
from
“The Shy Re-Cy” (1991)
9) “Recycle!”
When asked by the late Bruce
Manuel to write a show for the Very Special Arts program revolving
around this all-important theme, this is the (one) song to
sprout from it.....as demonstrated by a very positive
“Uncle “ to his very shy nephew, Martin!
back to the top
---
from “The Bepuzzled Pilgrim” (1992)
10) “Xavier’s
Song” (“A Hunting I am Going!”)
PPP’s funniest show
to date, in that it not only stars our #1 comedian (Vatican Lokey),
but the kids ...who constantly try to tell our perennial Pilgrim “what
to eat for Thanksgiving”......after very many “hits’n’misses” throughout!!
(P.S.:our Turkey’s name,
consequently, is “Delgado”!)
11) “Squanto!”
The famed friendly-Indian,
of course, has to have his solo, too! (Actually.... just a fun excuse
to come up with a whole mess of words that supposedly rhyme with the word
“Squanto!”)
back to the top
from
“Ugly Duckling ‘92” (1992)
12) “Different”
(as opposed to the word
“ugly”) is the operative word here.....in this
classic tale of self-esteem, as warbled by the former child-star of
N.O.R.D., Junya Tanner, as our vague little bird.
back to the top
---
from “An Afternoon with Aesop” (1993)
13) “Tortoise
Wins....by a Hare”
gloats our slow-but-confident
Timbuk Turtle. In our musical-version of “Tortoise and the
Hare,” the duo is put “on trial”....and the audience
: “the jury!”
14) “The
Mouse’s Plea”
was written especially for
our very special guest-voice,
dear friend and award-winning
soprano, Melissa Marshall, who shines in this lovely “operatic” Aesop
moment from “The Mouse and the Lion.”
back to the top
---
from “The Toymaker’s Wife” (1993)
15) “I
am the Toymaker’s Wife”
is a number especially written
to showcase the vocal (and comedic) strength of PPP’s very own Vatican
Lokey. A rarely-seen look at the female’s side of the
North Pole and its plights!
back to the top
---
from “Mother Goose Gets a Boost!” (1994)
16) “The
Forgetful Gator”
was a show written by Bill
Congemi for Storyland in 1988. Its simple story, a baby gator who
cannot remember his nursery rhymes, gets a PPP face-lift, a special title-song,
and very special guest-voice : local children’s theatre actor/ director
Edward R. Cox, who also designs and paints all of our sets!
(Recycling the tune “My Daddy Won’t Take Me There,” from “Jacqueline and
the Beanstalk.”)
17) “The
Hickory-Dickory Blues”
plagues our fatigued Mouse-hero....who
tries to explain to her substitute teacher, Mr. Deggs, that she “just
can’t seem to get any sleep with that darn ol’ clock ringing every night
at one !”
Featuring our young and
promising powerhouse, Ms. Miriam Baron.
back to the top
---
from “No Drugs!” (1995)
18) “I Feel Gooooood!”
is a song actually inserted
after the show had already opened, since this show initially had only one
musical-number. A very spaced-out serpent relays to our
“newcomer to the neighborhood” (Ollie Gator) just how “gooooood” he feels
from getting his (artificial) highs!
19) “No Drugs!”
is the not-so-subtle musical-lesson
taught by our totally Mardi Gras-ed “King of No!!”
back to the top
---
from “The Billy Goats’ Bluff” (1997)
20) “We....are
the Billy Goats (from Harahan!)”
proudly states our 3 furry
heroes (showcasing our very own “Sweet Adeline,” Nancy
Fuller as Mama Goat, Lillian!) In our version of “Billy
Goats Gruff,” that “bridge,” of course, is Huey P, with our
sad disgruntled Troll underneath the Bridge crying out ....
21) “Why Don’t I Ever
Have Any Friends?”
.....plus he can’t get any
sleep at night
with those 3 Goats
upstairs on the Bridge constantly practicing their
“tippetty-tappetty”-ing!!
back to the top
---
from “Tiz (Almost) the Season” (1997)
22) “I Don’t Have to Buy
Presents Anymore!”
gladly boasts our grumpy
curmudgeon (“Oscar Cantankera”).....who is just “fed up” with all
the Christmas hustle-and-bustle....until his eyes are greatly
opened later on by....
23) “Hannah,
the Holiday Goblin”
who is ugly as sin, has
3 eyes, 4 different shades of green, horns, wings, a pot-belly
stomach.........but with the prettiest female voice on the earth, as wonderfully
“self-harmonized” by our own local actress-beauty, Amy Alvarez.
Just goes to prove that things can be pretty from the inside
(....”never judge a book....)
back to the top
---
from “The Prog Fince” (1998)
24) “The Frog That Was
Not Meant to Be”
as “twanged out” by our
puppet “singing-cowboy-narrator”
(.... “formerly known as
Prince! ” .... “he just couldn’t pass up the joke!”)
25) To “Be a Frog”
is this Prince’s only yen.
In this truly “toad twist”.....it’s the human
who can’t wait to be a frog
!!
Written especially for PPP
favorite, Mr. Preston Meche.
26) “Fancy
Meeting You Down Here”
Title sound familiar??
Yes....same melody, (almost) same title.....but as gargled
by a different puppet (a Lady Fish) .....in a different situation.... and
(much) different surroundings! Featuring the multi-talented superbride
of “Uncle Wayne,” Becky Brenner Daigrepont.
27) “The Frogarina”
duhh.....is our out-and-out
bar-none spoof of, yes....
you guessed
it....“the Macarana”....not-so-cleverly disguised as a country- western
hit! (There are times when things are so silly we just have
to make fun of it!) The audience doing this “dance” is the
only way our greenish friend can turn back into being “human!”
back to the top
---
from “5 More by Aesop” (1999)
28) “In
the Water”
is where our greedy canine
sees “another bone,” in our musical Aesop re-telling of the “Dog and the
Shadow,”
as duetted by an actual
official member of “the water”
....a gravely-voiced Goldfish!
29) “The City Mouse and
the Country Mouse”
each get to dispel their
“ways of living”.....with identical melodies
(but in the guise of hillbilly
and Elvis-like rock’n’roll).
30)“Belling
the Cat”
gets the PPP musical treatment,
as worriedly sung by a bevy of
frantic mice......fearful
of “that Persian Cat!
back to the top
************************************************************************
About the Composer
“Uncle Wayne” Daigrepont
has been doing musical-comedy for children since 1971, where he began doing
theatre at Northwestern State University (in Natchitoches, La.)
Being reared in the small Cajun town of Simmesport, La., his lifelong love,
to this day, has been the “animated cartoon!” Born in 1953, his “bosom
buddy” was always, of course, a tv set...... where he has always marveled
at their music, genuine charm, and quick-paced comedy.. It is his
great joy to be able to produce these “original puppet musical-comedies”
(“the next best thing to animating!”), and to bring you some of his best
music of the first decade of PPP (1990-2000). All shows include
original scripts & puppets, as well as an original musical score!
For more info on Porta-Puppet Players, phone (504) 443-4276
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Music of
Porta-Puppet Players
“Uncle Wayne” Daigrepont
. . . . . . . . . . . . Original Music, Lyrics,
Musical Arrangements, Instrumentalist, & Vocals
Jeffrey Talbot, Audio-Works,
Inc. . . . . . Recording & Mixing Engineer
Rum Productions,
“Little” Earl Scioneaux
III,
& Ron Keller,
Rockit Studios . . . . . . . Additional Recording Engineers
Kyle Daigrepont. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Porta-Puppet Logo
Frank Methe . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Puppet Photography
Sandy Derenbecker/ Rob Ward
. . . . . . ............... CD Cover/ Booklet
... with
the additional very special guest vocal talents of ....
Carmen Rose
Vatican Lokey Soline McLain
Pauline Prelutsky
Julie “Renee`” Tolivar
Edward R. Cox
Miriam Baron
Melissa Marshall
Nancy Fuller Preston Meche
Becky Brenner Daigrepont
Junya Tanner
and Miss Becky Allen!
*************************************************
This CD is dedicated to
the memory of father
Ray Daigrepont,
who is personally responsible
for any and every good thing
that Wayne ever did !
