Tuck Everlasting

by Claudia Shear (Book), Chris Miller (Music), Nathan Tysen (Lyrics)

Eleven-year-old Winnie Foster yearns for a life of adventure beyond her white picket fence, but not until she becomes unexpectedly entwined with the Tuck Family does she get more than she could have imagined. When Winnie learns of the magic behind the Tuck's unending youth, she must fight to protect their secret from those who would do anything for a chance at eternal life. As her adventure unfolds, Winnie faces an extraordinary choice: return to her life, or continue with the Tucks on their infinite journey.

Based on best-selling children's classic by Natalie Babbitt and adapted for the stage by Claudia Shear and Tim Federle, Tuck Everlasting features a soaring score from Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen.

Genres: Plays

94 pages, Paperback

Published May 18, 2017

Reviews

[Jordan Cruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was translated well from some of the key moments in this book being taken into beautiful music. I love the musical as it shows the story of Winnie's life as she decides to "ride the wheel" of life and not drink the water from the spring. You dont get much of that in the book.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love how they transferred this wonderful book into a musical!

Witty lines make it funny and the beautiful music makes your heart ache with emotion.

[Andrew Oppmann · Rating 1 out of 5]

The tragedy of this musical adaptation is its undeniable potential. It has moments that show real promise, but those are quickly forgotten when the piece tries to fit the Broadway musical formula, off-shoring its dramatic power to sequences that make a splash but don’t anchor the storytelling in any meaningful way. Claudia Shear and Tim Federle’s dialogue often reads like a sitcom the way it orients itself around jokes and it quickly grows tiresome. The music by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen is more successful. The source material has a fable-like quality that naturally lends itself to folk, and this timbre comes through in songs like “Good Girl Winnie Foster”, “The Wheel”, and the penultimate “Everlasting”, but it’s spoiled by schmaltzy schticks like “Partner in Crime” and “Everything’s Golden”. Most of the departures from the source material don’t strengthen the story. The constable and his new deputy offer a gratuitous comedic subplot that leaves the main plot underfunded. The Man in the Yellow suit is no longer a dark mysterious entity that poses a real threat, but a carny. Winnie and Jesse’s relationship, although a notoriously difficult balance to strike, lacks clarity. In the 2002 movie, Winnie is fifteen, making the romance something the characters can lean into fully. Here, their ages are closer to Babbitt’s original conception—eleven and seventeen—and the writers do little to address it. The climactic action is completely truncated and resolves in a page. There’s time for superfluous carnival sequences and the stooge-iness of Constable Joe and his deputy, but not for the actual ending. The finale, originally conceived as a stylized ballet, though beautiful in theory, takes all the dramatic tension out of the story’s deeply moving final revelation. TUCK EVERLASTING: THE MUSICAL has all the spokes of the infamous wheel that Angus Tuck sings about, and then some, but it misses a strong center to anchor it all together.

[Chris McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the music on this soundtrack and have often wondered why this musical is not more widely produced. The script is problematic with some of its messages and it has a ton of different locations. There were quite a few touching moments in the script, however. I think it should be revisited by regional, academic, and community theatres.

[Casey Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

More immortal characters should have the excitement of Jesse Tuck. I’m tired of sad, depressed immortals — give me the immortal who gets excited to show off and get shot! It’s so much more fun that way!

[Samantha Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little sad. Very weird. Beautifully written.