Caroline Altman
Singer - Creative Artist - Coach
Original Musicals and Operas for Youth
This musical adaptation of Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit examines the relationships that develop within a found family, and also studies the difficult transitions one makes while growing “Real.”
Featured songs: "This Strange Place", "Real", "Be a Toy", "The World Can Change"
12 characters plus flexible ensemble
60 minutes
"It kept the interest of my 3 year old and my 9 year old - and there were plenty of 'inside' jokes that kept me laughing as well"
~ Theater Patron, Walnut Creek
Whiskers!
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Caroline Altman
Josephine and the Sheep of Dreams
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Caroline Altman
When Josephine lost her mother she also lost a vivacious storytelling friend. Now she is faced with a world that seems lonely and dull to her, and her teachers and friends are always telling her to “get her head out of the clouds”.
Josephine only feels at peace when she is dreaming. One night she goes on an ultimate dream journey where she encounters a flock of sheep, a neurotic elf, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, a boy who is convinced he is Peter Pan, and her mother. Captured by the Dream Thief, Josephine is forced to make a choice between reality and fantasy.
With the aid of her dream mother, and a chorus of sheep, Josephine learns the lessons needed to be whole again in the real world (fantasies intact!)
Featured songs include: "The Baa Baa Tango", "Colors", "Music in the Trees", "It's a Nightmare", "The Spider of Your Dreams", and "Star light, Star bright."
15 characters plus flexible ensemble. 60 minutes
"Colors so bright, I see them all
Voices so sweet from creatures small.
There’s a glow that surrounds us,
I know it surrounds us.
Does no one see it too?"
Now available as a book!
The Snow Queen: Splinters of Ice
Music and Libretto by Caroline Altman
This through-composed adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story deals with the quest for friendship and love and the things we learn on the way.
When young Kay is whisked away by the Snow Queen to the dark North, his vision is altered and heart is frozen by sharp glasslike icicles that make him see bleakness and feel nothing but annoyance.
His childhood friend, Gerda, distraught by his disappearance begins a long quest to bring him back. She is guided by the river, the sun, the moon, and various birds, and advised by flowers and an Enchantress who is really another aspect of her own self.
By the time she reaches Kay, she has learned many life lessons and can help him see clearly once again.
14 characters plus flexible ensemble.
60 minutes
Photos from San Francisco Opera Guild Summer Conservatory at The Children's Creativity Museum Theater, July 26, 2013
"Caroline’s original musical, KISS THE FROG, thoroughly enchanted its audience and was critically acclaimed for providing strong and relevant messages for its youthful audiences."
~ Kathryn McCarty, Artistic Director
Kiss the Frog!
Book, Music, Lyrics by Caroline Altman
What happens when Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Jocelyn, the Miller’s Daughter, find themselves locked in the same tower with no prince in sight?
With the aid of Hansel and Gretel, a near-sighted and forgetful fairy godmother, and an amorous Frog, modern day teens Linda and Peter stumble upon this fairy tale crew. With the pressure of a modern day Enchantress the group tests the old morals and role models from traditional fairy tales as they try to navigate the changes to adulthood in a modern world.
Featured songs: "Fairy Tales", "I'm Here", "I've Been Asleep So Long", "One Step Away", "Magic Words", "We Can Spin Straw Into Gold."
14 characters plus flexible ensemble
60 minutes
"What you dream will come true if only you have trust.
When you feel inside you commitment is a must
Then you'll spin gold."