Greedy Gracie Shares the Happy Premieres at the Sandbox

Ten area kids took to the stage in the premiere of the musical Greedy Gracie Shares the Happy at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre on Saturday, November 15. An audience packed with children learned valuable lessons about friendship, leadership and teamwork while being entertained for 45 minutes with upbeat dance routines, original songs and even a rap by a dog.

When the show opens, Gracie wakes up with big plans because her best friend’s birthday is only one day away. She wants to do everything herself because she fancies herself the “Can-Do Queen.” But when Gracie faces the possibility that she’s a greedy giver, she learns to share the jobs, the hats and the happy that comes when everyone gets involved. All of these messages are driven home through catchy songs, jokes and direct appeals from the characters.

One audience-goer, Olivia age 6, said “Shirley Bird was my favorite character. I thought how she kept popping up with things to say was really funny.” Alexis age 7, commented that “I would like kids from my school to see this show” and Nadia age 9, woke up the next day singing the song, “Hattitude.” Parents in the audience were excited to continue the dialogue about sharing and caring. And everyone in the audience left wanting a “conversation ball” that the cast playfully tossed to the audience at the end of the show-- for a few minutes a dozen mini beach balls were bouncing around the theatre to the enjoyment of both kids and adults.

This new musical is based on the children’s book Greedy Gracie Shares the Happy by Jeanne Rollins and Kathleen Jordan. A Rye- based family therapist, Jeanne created the character Gracie to teach young leaders that the most generous friends invite others into the process of giving and the best leaders create more leaders instead of followers. When Jeanne contacted Osborn School music teacher, Marshall Toppo, he immediately saw the potential for a traveling cast of kids to perform this type of “Do Good-Feel Good” musical at school assemblies. In 2013, Jeanne and Marshall teamed up to transform Greedy Gracie from a picture book to a script with rhyming dialogue, message-loaded lyrics and an original score.

The pair took their new musical to Jason Summers at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre. Jason, a director with years of experience working with children, recognized the potential for a show like this to deliver a positive message in response to growing concerns about bullying. With this team now in place, Greedy Gracie had a home to debut.

The cast is made up of ten dynamic and engaging performers: Lucy Alcoba and Hannah Lubowitz of Harrison; Mara Ball, Brock Bieber, Lucy Langer, Noel Regan and Sammy Tambe of Rye; Adam Lemoine of White Plains; Amanda Browne and Christina Montanez-McGuinness of New Rochelle.

Next month, Greedy Gracie Shares the Happy hits the road with its first of many in-school performances. The team behind this delightful musical hopes that by visiting area schools they can teach young leaders to be sure that everyone has a seat at the table and a role in the planning. Greedy Gracie Shares the Happy has three more performances at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre November 22nd and 23rd. You can review show times at www.wstshows.com.