The Calling Hour, a children’s musical by Avi Gross & Heather Herington Synopsis Transcript (Song Clips Underlined.) 1. “Peace and harmony have ruled Spell Forest under the ‘Calling Hour’ pact. But since the founder’s passing, villagers had begun to abuse the privilege of harvesting the land around Tallwood Village and, by the pact’s Centennial, had set their greedy eyes on Spell Forest. Yet throughout this unraveling, the Earth Spirit, better known as the Spell Queen, had done nothing to discourage this bad behavior. Meanwhile, up in Spell Forest, the Sun Spirit and Rain Spirit were so offended they had informed Gwyn, the Wind Spirit , of their intention to wipe the slate clean. Fortunately, Gwyn was able to gain a forty-eight hour reprieve, but before Gwyn, who almost overnight had doubled in size, and the Spellies who governed the plants and animals in the area, could discuss their next move, a train whistled rounding the last bend in the village. 2. ‘We want our children. We want them back,’ “scream angry villagers gathering at the train station where Mayor Grant has come to greet his long lost niece.” ‘Of all the places on earth, none could be worse,’ Grace complains from the middle of a hornet’s nest. ‘Why? Why? Why? Why is she here’? “villagers wonder, before Gwyn, impressed by the teenager, dispatches the crowd back to their huts with an angry squall. 3. That same morning, in the Spell Queen’s meadow, the chanimals, part human, part animal, are bent on going home after their time in the wild, but the Wind Spirit had frozen the fleurbs and to make matters more dire the Spell Queen then announces: ‘From where I sit, you’re irreconcilably stuck!’ ‘Oh no we’re not’, think the chanimals, and off they go in search of some flower spells to turn them into children again.” 4. ‘And what is more!’ (under narration) “Back in Tallwood, a tour of the mill and company store has Grace in a rage regarding her mother’s birthplace. It’s a disaster, nothing like she had been led to believe. 5. “About then, at the top of Spell Forest, the Spellies or three B’s as they are affectionately known-Belle’C, the hummingbird, Breen, the wolf, and Bailey, the butterfly-are worried about Gwyn’s obsession with the chanimals. ‘Not very nice, not very nice, not very nice,’ they chime in about the bratty kids upon his return, applauding Gwyn’s effort along with the mouse and owl Spellies to extract a sincere apology from the obnoxious hybrids. 6. “That evening, as Grace climbs into bed in the manor guest room, she taps her ring three times. Lifted into flight by magical vapors above the surrounding woodlands she hears her late mother warn: ‘Something’s wrong, where’s my song? Where could it be hiding where could it have gone? Back in bed, Grace is wrapped in profound sadness and a sense of urgency to heal the rift between forest and village. 7. Losers like us, who no one seems to trust,’ the chanimals jest among themselves early next morning as they near the cave where they plan to trick Gwyn into handing over a fresh batch of fleurbs. But the Wind Spirit turns the tables on them, leaving Oscar, who had fallen asleep as lookout, to make good on their rescue. 8. “It doesn’t take long for Grace to get involved in the ongoing struggle when later that morning, she becomes the target of terrified villagers. Still awaiting the youngsters’ return, they bear witness to Gwyn’s handiwork-the freezing of the Mayor-and chasing Grace towards Spell Forest, demand a truce with their caretaker, the Spell Queen. ‘Don’t pinch the witch’s tail, be respectful without fail. It makes you deaf to hear her wail, don’t dare pinch the witch’s tail.’ (under narration) 9. At the top of Spell Forest, the ever-expanding Gwyn celebrates his meteoric rise by informing the B’S of a change in plan: ‘And what hit her, the queen will never know,’ Then, from out of nowhere, the Spell Queen seizes the upper hand with her earth-shattering grunt. Gwyn angrily orders the Mouse and Owl Spellies back to the cave, letting it slip that he will attend to the recently arrived Tallwood after a well-deserved nap, handing the Three B’S the opportunity to track Grace’s whereabouts. 10. Down in Tallwood, the two loggers sent to retrieve the missing children, return empty-handed and find the Mayor a repentant man. In a rush to make amends with the Spell Queen, he asks the children to escort him up to Spell Forest: ‘With a word to the wise, and a thousand humble pies, I apologize.’ 11. Meanwhile, Grace is fast asleep in a spellbound meadow created by the reenergized Spell Queen. The Wolf Spelly is the first to arrive, soon joined by the others. With no time to spare, they rouse Grace with a gentle prod and are delighted to discover she can speak the language of nature: ‘Although we’re all different, we each bear a blueprint, that binds us creatures unique, for we all speak, the language of nature.’ 12. With some fresh fleurbs in hand, Grace is primed to wright the troubles between the village and Spell Queen. When Oscar appears, she convinces the gang to go after his buddies, and when Homelia and Jeraysen show up on their own, she has the wherewithal to hide them before Gwyn swoops down to block the path to the Spell Queen’s meadow. Then after the enraged Wind Spirit tries to sabotage the ‘Calling Hour’ ceremony, she rallies the group around her and gets them to hum along, (‘Hum, hum, hum, hum’ under narration’) creating a sound frequency strong enough to revive the Hummingbird Spelly and the flower spells. Back to the Spell Queen’s they rush, humming all the way, but just as they reach the path that skirts the waterfalls, Gwyn mounts a furious whirlwind that propels them, head over heels, into the air. Still, Grace doesn’t waiver, remaining steadfast in her conviction: ‘Nature needs us all to believe, in our own humanity’. Finally, as the Spell Queen guides the band to safety, Grace leads a chant against Gwyn’s last-ditch attempt to seize the scroll until the Rain Spirit, having seen enough, ends the battle with a sizzling thunderbolt. ‘Stop,’ she claps, “sending the Wind Spirit to earth deflated and defeated.” ‘Humming is a way for inner peace to come alive, to embrace your power and your pride, a way to calm the fear inside. (under narration). 13. Standing over her foe, the Spell Queen supplies a final twist by congratulating the Wind Spirit on a job well done. Watched over by the reunited Spirits, Grace takes a child’s hand and in the encroaching darkness, they sign the pact to last their lifetime and beyond. ‘Reach out your hand and take the flower, the time has come for the ‘Calling Hour’. The time has come for the calling hour when humans and nature decree’!
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