MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR

EXPERIENCE

Make the most of your experience of attending Stages Theatre Company’s production of Tuck Everlasting, The Musical with our family resource guide. The information and activities are designed to be used before and after seeing the show.

BEFORE THE PLAY

READ THE BOOK The musical is based on the book, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. Have fun reading it before you attend. Written in 1975 the book has remained popular since its release. It was adapted into a film in 1981 and again in 2002. A Broadway musical adaptation debuted in 2016. The Theatre for Young Audience’s (TYA) version of the Broadway musical premiered at the Nashville Children’s Theatre in 2018 and was published in 2019. Stages Theatre Company’s production of the TYA version runs about 70 minutes and uses dialogue, singing, and dancing to tell the story.

WEBSITES ABOUT THE BOOK • https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tuck-everlasting/summary/ • https://kids.jamespatterson.com/read-kiddo-read/tuck-everlasting/ • https://www.gradesaver.com/tuck-everlasting/study-guide/summary

BOOK TRAILERS • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpYWA2iwrRw • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brktrJsmyNI • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93MWCIGSl-E • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7h70nX-ySM • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvbyE43gkG8

STAGES VIDEOS ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

• https://youtu.be/xSOZ9vkXIcc • https://youtu.be/TVyn9N_A7kw • https://youtu.be/JOY9roYauhE

MUSIC FROM THE PLAY https://www.stagestheatre.org/tuck-everlasting/

GET TO KNOW THE ADAPTED STORY

Treegap, New Hampshire. 1893. After the death of her father, eleven-year-old Winnie Foster lives a sheltered life with her mother but yearns for adventure beyond her front gate. When a traveling fair comes to town Winnie sneaks out of the house and unexpectedly crosses paths with the Tuck family. After she learns the secret of their immortality, her adventure becomes more than she could ever imagine.

Suspecting that her daughter has been kidnapped, Winnie’s mother enlists the help of the town constable while Winnie and the youngest Tuck, Jesse, steal away to enjoy the fair. While at the fair, Winnie and Jesse encounter the unsavory Man in the Yellow Suit who suspects the Tuck’s secret. The man will do anything for eternal life, putting Winnie in danger. Jesse offers Winnie a way to join the Tuck family by giving her some of the spring water that made them immortal. He asks her to drink it when she turns seventeen and then chase adventures with him through eternity. The Man in the Yellow Suit, the Tuck family, Winnie, and the town constable finally converge as the Man tries to steal the secret to their eternal life for his own gain. After an altercation, the Tuck’s secret is safe, and Winnie is reunited with her mother. In the end, Winnie must choose between her ordinary life and infinite adventure.

DISCUSS EXPECTATIONS

Have a talk about the upcoming play. What actions or events might be seen on stage? What characters might the play include from the book? How do you think singing and dancing will be used to help tell the story of Winnie Foster and the Tuck family?

AFTER THE PLAY EXPECTATIONS REVISTED How many of your expectations were realized? Discuss the similarities and differences from the book to the play. Were the characters on stages faithful to the characters in the book? Why do you think the playwright may have changed some of the things from the book to turn it into a play?

DISCUSSION POINTS THE DECISION OF A LIFETIME

What if you could live forever? Would you choose eternal life or a life well-lived? It is certainly the decision of a lifetime. What would be the advantages of living forever? What would be the disadvantages? What does this decision prompt you to think is important in life? Do you think Winnie chooses wisely? Would you choose to drink from the spring?

IT’S A WHEEL, WINNIE In both the book and the musical, the wheel symbolizes the cycle of life, which is always moving and never stops. Angus Tuck tells Winnie, “You don’t need to live forever. You just need to live.” What does he mean when he says this? What are the consequences of removing yourself from the cycle of life? What does it mean to you to live your life to the fullest?

WHAT IF YOU HAD TO KEEP THE TUCK’S SECRET? When the Tucks tell Winnie about their immortality they trust her with a secret. Why is it important for Winnie to keep the secret? What would be the consequences of people discovering the spring? How would it be difficult for you to keep such an enormous secret? Why is it important to keep secrets? Why is it sometimes important to share secrets?

THE FOLLOWING YEARS Imagine what happens after the end of the book. How will the lives of the Tuck’s be different after their experiences with Winnie in Treegap? How do you imagine Winnie lived her life after the Tuck’s leave? Do you think Winnie ever contemplated going to the spring and seeking out the Tucks again?

HISTORICAL SETTING The setting of Tuck Everlasting is the fictional town of Treegap, New Hampshire, but the year, 1893, is not fiction. It is historical. This setting is about 130 years ago from today. When the story starts the Tucks have been alive for more than a century. Jesse Tuck would have been born in 1791. The world is not the same in 1791 as it was in 1893 and not the same now as it was then. The Tucks have seen a lot of changes. Imagine what they will experience from 1893 to the present?

1893 2022 US Population 63,000,000 US Population 331,500,000

# of US States 38 (Colorado was most recently admitted in 1876)

# of US States 50 (Alaska and Hawaii most recently admitted in 1959)

Inventions and technology: Recent inventions include the Ferris wheel, the zipper, the telephone (1876), the typewriter (commercial use 1873); electrification of cities (1893), but majority of US is not electrified

Inventions and technology: Recent advancements in technology include the Internet, Artificial Intelligence, GPS, and smart phones.

Economies of scale: Industrial growth is on the rise (1870-1900). Local economies dependent on regional and national supply chains and manufacturing.

Economies of scale: Large global companies dominate economy. Local economies are tied to global economies. Supply chains dependent on global connections and manufacturing.

Population distribution: Large areas of undeveloped wilderness. More US population lived in rural areas than in cities. Largest cities: New York (1.5 million); Chicago (1 million); Philadelphia (1 million)

Population distribution: US population moved from majority rural to majority urban in 1920. Now 80% of US population lives in urban areas. Undeveloped landscapes are much smaller, less areas of wilderness. Largest cities: New York (8.5 million); LA (4 million); Chicago (2.6 million); Houston (2.4 million); Phoenix (1.7 million)

FURTHER READING OTHER BOOKS BY NATALIE BABBITT

NOVELS The Search for Delicious (1969) The Something (1970) Goody Hall (1971) The Eyes of Amaryllis (1977) Herbert Rowbarge (1982) Jack Plank tells Tales (2007) The Moon over High Street (2012)

NOVELLAS Dick Foote and the Shark (1967)

COLLECTIONS Bub or the Very Best Thing The Devil’s Storybook (1974) The Devil’s Other Storybook (1987) The Devil’s Storybooks (2012) More Small Poems (1976) Still More Small Poems (1978) All the Small Poems (1987) Favorite Fables (2005)

PICTURE BOOKS Phoebe’s Revolt (1977) Curlicues (1980) Kneeknock rise (1984) Nellie: A Cat on Her Own (1989) Ouch! (1998) Elsie Times Eight (2001)

OTHER NOVELS ABOUT IMMORTALITY The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop by Kate Saunders The Dark Rising Series by Susan Cooper Section 13 Series by James R. Hannibal

OTHER NOVELS SIMILAR IN STYLE Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Giver or Number the Stars (both by Lois Lowry) Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle