The Story: Kipling’s Jungle Book was originally created to focus on the challenges of growing up in a strange culture and learning life’s universal lessons - as taught by “friends.” Kipling created Akela, Bagheera, Baloo and the others to be those friends.

Everyone recognizes the story of the jungle boy and his animal friends and enemies as told through the Disney cartoon version. In the Hungarian version known as A Dszungel Konyve, written by Laszlo Des, Peter Geszti, and Pal Bekes, after Mowgli is adopted by the wolf pack and learns the lessons of life through the laws of the jungle, he is reminded that he is a human, adopted by jungle creatures and that he is very different, a stranger among his adopted family. After singing and dancing with the wolves and the Bandar-log (the monkey tribe) he realizes that he can never be less than human. There are fifteen new songs included in this version with five musical styles representing the villagers and all the animal dance groups.

In the second act, he returns to the village where he was born, hoping to become accepted as an adult human. Mowgli finds another person in the village, who would welcome him, but she is married to the village hunter and the rest of the village will not accept this stranger.

Kipling wanted all young people to understand that they could adapt the laws of the jungle to humankind, just as Mowgli was adopted by the wolves and other animals. Those principles of logic, love and honor created by Kipling were also adopted by Sir Robert Baden-Powell when he created the Boy Scouts, to this day still holding true to the importance of learning and leadership and a sharing community.

As a fee-free summer arts program dedicated to the open-learning environment, the Gooseberry Park Players choose stories that demonstrate important lessons. Besides the teaching of acting, singing and dancing, themes that have been significant in our production choices include family, home, honor, responsibility, courage, love, bravery, and commitment to an ideal or a truth.

As the world around us struggles for balance, young people in our company devote themselves to volunteerism and service to others through their talents. Kipling’s Jungle Book serves our youth-theatre company, our “family of families,” and the eleven various schools represented through our young people. It offers significant lessons in performance, life and community. We invite everyone to be involved.

Twenty-seven Years in Moorhead!