The Pearl and the Pumpkin was originally a 1904 children's book, written by Paul Clarendon West and W. W. Denslow, and illustrated by the latter. It was adapted for the stage with songs composed by John Walter Bratton and opened at the Broadway Theatre, New York on 21 August 1905, and transferred to the Grand Opera House, New York on 20 November 1905.

Dramatis Personæ

MIDI Files

ACT I - Scene 1   -   Mother Carey's Fairy Office - Hallowe'en.

• No. 1 - Prologue - with spoken dialogue

ACT I - Scene 2   -   The Pringle Barn, Vermont.

• No. 2 - Opening Chorus - "We are rural you will note beyond a doubt, our faces bright are tanned a healthy brown.  The hayseed from our hair is sifting out..."
• No. 3 - Song - John Doe and Chorus - "Who makes the finest ginger bread in all the country round?  You know... John Doe.  That's so..."
• No. 4 - Song - Pearl and Children - "When in town my ma-ma gives receptions, I'm always packed straight off to bed;  but I lean o'er the stairway..."
• No. 5 - Song - Joe Miller and Chorus - "Jack O' Lantern Joe, Jack O' Lantern Joe.  Isn't he a naughty boy to scare us so..."
• No. 6 - Song - Ancient Mariner and Chorus - "I'm a jolly old deep sea tar, of the shiver-my-timbers brand;  on the billowy foam I'm right at home..."

ACT I - Scene 3   -   Hallowe'en Hollow.

• No. 7a - Opening - Polly and Girls - "Stars a-shining, moonbeams pining in our mirror we can only see;  Bats discerning, owls' eyes burning, leaves that flutter..."

ACT I - Scene 4   -   The Enchanted Cornfield.

• No. 7b - Opening Scene and Entrance of Puckwudgies
• No. 8 - Shadow Song - Sally and Chorus - "When the birds are sleeping, when the stars are peeping, when the moon is shining, shining brightly on the ground..."
• No. 9 - Trio - John Doe, Cannem and Ancient Mariner - "In this hazardous undertaking let us make a promise now to hang together..."
• No. 10 - Finale Act I - "A pumpkin-head!  Come sprites!  The wish is said!  The boy shall be a grinning pumpkin-head!"

ACT II - Scene 1   -   Davy Jones's Locker.

• No. 11 - Chorus of Pirates - "Pirates we!  A rollocking roving crew, the terrors of the sea ... Yes!  We're pirates! ... Bold are we, but roving days are through..."
• No. 12 - Song - Nancy Lee and Male Chorus - "Oh, there once was a song captivating the throng, 'twas the ballad of sweet Annie Rooney..."
• No. 13 - Song and Dance - Pearl - "Once there was a fickle-minded chap, ev'ry week a diff'rent girl;  short or tall he didn't care a rap if her name was only Pearl..."
• No. 14 - Entrance of the Submarine Fire Brigade
• No. 15 - Song - Mother Carey and Chorus - "It may seem odd that we who dwell beneath the sea should need to guard against conflagration..."
• No. 16 - Song - Mariner and Chorus - "There once was a mermaid, they say, who lived by the edge of a bay;  she pulled off a scale from the tail of a whale..."

ACT II - Scene 3   -   Mother Carey's Palace.

• No. 17 - Opening Chorus - "Hail to our beautiful queen today, our armor clanks a loyal rattle.  She'll find her army in full array, prepared to meet the foe in battle..."
• No. 18 - Song - Ancient Mariner and Sally Simpkins - "I've been hunting very long for a certain kind of song that will satisfy a little girl I know..."
• No. 19 - Honeymoon Hall Duet - Jimmy and Polly - "There's a new house I know, on a nice quiet street, just for newly-wed couples, that's all..."
• No. 20 - Entrance of Vanderdecken and Crew
• No. 21 - Finale Act II - "O'er the sea, sailing free, roved a ship with flags a-flying, but the storm-clouds darkly gathered o'er!  'Ware the gale!  Reef the sail!"

ACT III - Scene 1   -   Ike Cannem's Canning Factory.

• Nos. 22 & 23 - Entre and Song - Cannem and Canners - "The farmer is a noble lord whom people praise with reason, he raises fruit in goodly horde..."

ACT III - Scene 2   -   The Lily Field.

• No. 24 - "Lily White" Song and Chorus  (soloist unspecified) - "In a field of lilies in Bermuda knelt a little maid in tears..."
• No. 25 - Duet - Pearl and Johnny - "Tigers are a-prowling through the jungle,  boa constrictors dangle from the bows;  parrots wing their flight..."

ACT III - Scene 3   -   Moonlight on the Beach, Bermuda.

• No. 26 - Song - Mariner and Chorus - "The English are a jolly race, that fact there's no denying;  their blooming army takes first place, with banners proudly flying..."
• No. 27 - Finale Act III - "Now Joe and Pearl be happy side by side ... yes, side by side ... and pumpkins now will grow beneath the tide..."

 MIDI files

External Links

Information about the original book.

American Musical Theatre

Page modified 17 February 2017