The People of the Forest: A Rain Forest Musical

By Roselina Johari Md Khir

The People of the Forest highlight the plight of the orangutan deep in the rainforests of Sabah, and other parts of Malaysia. The orangutan is the largest tree-living mammal in the world. They are facing extinction due to excessive clearance and destruction of big tracts of forests for commercial logging, legal or otherwise, plus, their own low reproductive rate which makes orangutan population excessively vulnerable to mortality. Their population just takes a long time to recover from a decline. It takes about 4 years of weaning before the young orangutan becomes independent from their mother after which she will be ready to give birth to a second young.

This musical moves around a baby orangutan which is named Wira or hero. Wira grows up to be a mischievous individual which never takes no for an answer, so we will follow his adventures in the rainforest with his friends, the proboscis monkey, the pygmy elephant, the mouse-deer, the Sumatran rhino, the hornbill, the clouded leopard, the Malayan tiger, the banteng, the sun bear and the tapir, all endangered species. Wiras adventures will lead him to rescue an infant female orang utan in captivity of illegal loggers in the forest. There are 13 songs in the musical. The live orchestra accompanying the play should use bamboo flutes, bamboo wind chimes, ziters, sampoton, thus capturing the rhythm of the rainforest.

Roselina Khir Johari

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Nov 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781482895162

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Copyright © 2014 by Roselina Johari Md Khir.

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Contents

Prologue

Act One, Scene 1

Act One, Scene 2

Act One, Scene 3

Intermission

Dedicated to the fight

for the endangered species of Malaysia

Prologue

Prelude: Hymn To The Forest (Kinabatangan Hymn)

(-Offstage hum while mist fills the stage as dawn breaks. Background sound of birds, insects, rain forest sounds—sompoton, bamboo flutes, ziters, Bamboo wind chimes . . .)

*    *    *

Dawn is breaking in the tropical forest of Kinabatangan, Sabah. The sound of the forest is broken by the call of the male Orang utan, inviting the forest animals to gather in welcoming the birth of his son. They come dancing.

(The sound of animals)

Song No1: Prologue: A Baby Is Born

Solo Chimpanzee: Oh… . . . . . . . . . Oh… . . . . . . . . .

Awake!!!!!!!! Kinabatangan… . . . . . . . . . (ensemble:Awake!!!!!!!! Kinabatangan… . . . . . . . . .)

Wira!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wira!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Wira!!! Wira!!!!)

Chorus

Ensemble:    Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan! Orang utan!

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan! Orang utan!

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan!

Deep in the tropical forest

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan! (oh . . . .)

Deep in the tropical forest

Verse 1 2 X

Solo Proboscis Monkey: A baby is born Ensemble: (A baby is born)

The baby orang utan (The baby orang utan)

After eight years (After eight years)

of no new birth (of no new birth)

Chorus

Ensemble:    Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan!

Deep in the tropical forest

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan! (oh . . . .)

Deep in the tropical forest

A baby is born (A baby is born)

The baby orang utan (The baby orang utan)

After eight years (After eight years)

Of no new birth (of no new birth)

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan!

Deep in the tropical forest

Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan! (Oh . . . .)

Deep in the tropical forest

Verse 2 2X

Solo Proboscis Monkey: This baby is born Ensemble: (This baby is born)

To see the sun (to see the sun)

To continue the species (To continue the species)

Of the orang utan (Of the orang utan)

Chorus

Ensemble:    Orang utan! Orang Utan! Orang utan!

Deep in the tropical forest