Alene Lynch as Chloe Flower
Come to a peaceful place. A magical place. Forget your troubles. Relax. Renew. In an oasis of fun in the middle of Coronado. Eric Scot Frydler's all-new musical, The Magical Forest lets your imagination run wild. Let music pour over you and refresh your soul. Let humor soothe your nerves. Hope fill your heart. And come away refreshed and renewed. Eric Scot Frydler, musical composer, playwright and lyricist, diagnosed with autism as a child, uses his inward focus to fuel his creative genius and share it with the world in his latest, wildly imaginative musical The Magical Forest.
Surprising characters, such as termites and nettles, come to life. Beautifully crafted costumes, complemented with exquisite set design, and original songs that make love to your heart and tickle your funny bone transport the audience to a surreal world of enchantment, fun for all ages. The Magical Forest. takes viewers on a journey to resolve current social, emotional, and environmental concerns as well as some "Ah ha!" moments in relationships between characters that we can all relate to.
Playwright/Composer Comments
As you can imagine, I visit The Magical Forest a lot. The inhabitants of the forest talk to me. They ask me questions like do we choose light, do we choose darkness -- is music sound, is music silence, is music heart. In this beautiful world, in this panic world we share -- my question remains - is goodness the greatest force in the world?
Musical Numbers
Act I
“When You Believe” Nomie, Chloe
“Abra Cadabra Buttermilk Toast” Nomie
“I Want to Know” Chloe
“Termites!” Termite Rapper, Rapper Sisters
“My Lawn is Talking To Me” Chloe
“Spooky Forest” Weeds
“Get Busy” Mother Nature
“I’m De Vine” De Vine
“The Wishing Tree” Nomie
“I’m Leaving My Cocoon” Chloe
Act II
“Glory is Talking to Me” Choir
“The Forgotten Lagoon” Queen Marsha
“They Want To Keep Us Small” Queen Marsha
“Night Garden” Chloe
“Stinging Nettle Sisters” Stinging Nettle Sisters
“My Last Chance” Nomie
“Life’s A Dump” Dumpster, Trash Crew
“Middle of Nowhere” Scrapper
“Who are these Men?” King Ragwort, Queen Marsha
“Can You Feel My Heart?’ Chloe
“Another Day” Chloe, Nomie, Cast
I want to thank the many good forces that helped bring this production about. My good friend Ivan Harrison who championed this work right from the beginning and whose courage is an inspiration. Rosemary Harrison for her thoughtful suggestions and tremendous moral support. John Moore who first brought me to the Coronado Playhouse. Katy Skyrud for her dedication to seeing the work shown in its best light. Mary Anderson and all the members of the board of the Coronado Playhouse for placing their faith in me.
I also wish to thank the wonderful cast and crew, director Jessica Seaman, choreographer Diana Valero-Olivier, choir director Ken Anderson and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Choir, my wonderful arrangers Dan, Jade, Javier, Asha, and all the crew.
My friends Tom O’ Mary, Gary O’ Mary, Dr. Edward Belbruno, Patricia Wilkinson, Liz Winn, Betty Jamieson-Dunne, Ron Hoyt, Tom Noland, Winship Cook, my sister and brother-in-law, Irene and Jerry Mink, and Grace Doty my friend and life, counselor. Most importantly, I want to thank Stephanie Daniels Frydler my partner in life for her endless love and hours of labor helping me bring this vision and others into focus, and for her magical creativity that turns everything imaginary into such beautiful reality. I wouldn’t be here without you. I love you.
And to those who have gone ahead of me into The Magical Forest: My parents: William Bill Frydler who saved countless lives during the Holocaust including my mother, Antonina Tola Goldberg Frydler, and aunt and uncle, Dr. Ignacy and Diana Goldberg. To my god parents Edith and Lee Brown, friend James Day Power, Ellen Belbruno, and Stephanie’s parents Naomi and Herb. And to the many, many members of my family that I never got to touch who were taken away during the Shoah. I love you all for sending me your kindness.
Eric Scot Frydler
Director’s Notes
When I first heard the music for The Magical Forest I was instantly taken to a magical place inside of my head. My thoughts swirled around beautiful colors woven within the music and the emotions behind the notes. The story revolves around a very special girl named Chloe that has the ability and strength to overcome her human trials and touch the lives of those around her, even if they are from different worlds. The Magical Forest is a place of enchantment, love, healing, friendship, and above all it is a place for forgiveness and strength. Each character possesses the power to help the environment and each other with the magic inside of them. As you listen to the music and watch the characters grow, I hope The Magical Forest takes you on a journey of discovery within yourselves to a place where love above all is the greatest magic.
Jessica Seaman
