Now Off-Broadway!
Book & Lyrics by Richard Rosser
Music by Alec Wells
Piglet Sammy Hamhock is on summer vacation and can’t wait to join his Dad on Piggy Patrol, where they snout out Piggy Behavior throughout town. However, as Sammy’s Dad tickets other animals for Piggy Behavior, he is often a Piggy himself. Along their route, Sammy meets a leopard named Lacey and it’s love at first sight. However, when his Dad’s behavior causes Lacey’s mom to put the kibosh on their relationship, Sammy realizes that his father is the biggest Piggy of all, and Sammy must teach his father a lesson in thoughtfulness and consideration. Featuring an original score richly layered with blues, rock, rap, and gospel influences, Piggy Nation is fun for all ages!
Why is Piggy Nation right for you? Click here to find out!
The Story
Act I
Sammy, a boy pig, wakes up in his bed excited for summer to begin. Sammy sings and jumps on the bed (Today Is Here and Now). He runs downstairs and eats breakfast with his dad, Hank, who asks if he would like to go to work with him.
Hank works for the Piggy Patrol, making sure no one is up to any "piggy behavior." Piggy behavior doesn’t apply to pigs alone, it applies to everyone. Anytime anyone is causing an inconvenience or is troubling someone else, it is considered piggy behavior.
Hank and Sammy hop in the Piggy Patrol Cart and are off to snout out those piggies (Piggy Patrol).
At Fanny Flamingo’s house, Fanny is out in the garden. She is getting all of her beautiful flowers ready for the garden tour.
Rudella Leppard and her daughter Lacy come by pushing a stroller. Lacy is very excited by the beautiful flowers. As they leave, Rudella reaches down in the garden and pulls up a handful of flowers while Fanny is not looking. Fanny contemplates her hard work in the garden (I’m So Proud).
Billy Baboonsky is walking his pet porcupine, Mr. Prickles, when Mr. Prickles happens to poop on Fanny’s poppies! Hank and Sammy come over to see what has happened. After a debate between Billy and Hank, Piggy Patrol explains that you don’t need to be a pig to be a “piggy” (You Don’t Have to Be a Pig). Hank gives Billy a ticket and makes him pick up his pet’s mess. As they leave the scene, Hank carelessly drives over some of Fanny’s flowers.
Hank and Sammy decide to stop at the park for lunch. As Hank begins his afternoon nap on the park bench, Rudella and Lacy Leppard come through the park. Rudella tells Lacy to run along and play while she feeds her baby brother on the park bench.
Sammy and Lacy see each other and are immediately enthralled (Together). Both seem familiar to the other, and finally they realize that they attended pre-school together. After a little while, Rudella finishes changing the baby and leaves the dirty diaper on the park bench.
On a city street, Larry Lizardo is rapping about how he can’t stand to be messy (Clean Freak). He throws his fast food trash on the ground so that it is no longer on his person. Hank and Sammy drive up and stop their cart in the middle of the road. They give Larry a ticket for littering but Hank’s choice for parking causes a massive traffic jam (You Gotta Look Around).
Later, inside the Regal Restaurant, several patrons, including Rudella and Lacey Leppard, are eating. Oliver Oxley enters talking extremely loud on his cell phone (Blah Blah Blah). All of the customers begin to get very upset. As Hank hands a ticket to Oliver, he bumps into Rudella’s table and spills soup all over her dress. Rudella realizes that Sammy is Hank’s son and forbids Lacey from playing with him.
Act II
Hank and Sammy are back in their neighborhood heading home (Heading Home). Hank goes to check on some loud noise in the neighborhood. From the window of her bedroom, Lacey is arguing with her mom who wants her to go to bed. When Rudella leaves, Sammy talks to Lacey under her window. Rudella enters again and Sammy runs off. Rudella warns Lacey that if she is caught associating with Sammy again she will be grounded (Grounded).
As the loud noise continues, all of the neighbors are coming out of their houses (Stop That Noise). Hank goes up to the house with the barking dog, and, ignoring Sammy’s warning, sets off the burglar alarm (Stop That Noise Part 2).
Sammy finally explains to his dad that he has been the biggest piggy of all that day. Hank apologizes and Sammy writes his dad a ticket. Then every single neighbor admits to a piggy behavior and apologizes. Every single neighbor except one: Rudella Leppard. Rudella says that she has never been a piggy. Finally, Lacey comes clean for her mom and tells everyone about the dirty diaper in the park. Everyone embraces their mistakes and celebrates (We’re All Piggies).
The Reviews...
"Get ‘Piggy’ with it at this heartwarming musical for kids" –NYPost
"…it gets its important message across in fun and lively fashion, and if it makes your tykes think twice before engaging in piggy behavior you’ll be glad you took them." –NYpost
"Piggy Nation: The Musical!” has a bouncy score and just enough bodily function jokes to keep the kid-crowd for which it's intended. As an added bonus for parents, this heartwarming children’s musical offers some pretty good lessons." – NYpost
"Always Fun" –CurtainUP
"Judging by my family's reaction —especially from my daughter, who has started to seek out and correct examples of piggy behavior in the rest of her life — the message is getting through. If you have children between the ages of three and ten, I can recommend Piggy Nation as a fun show." –CurtainUp
"Today’s a perfect day for a family musical." –Norman Transcript
What some of the bloggers are saying…
"It was wonderful to stumble upon this Off-Broadway musical that lets your imagination take the lead" -3decades3kids "Ripe with laughter – and age-appropriate lessons" -Mommy Delicious
"An hour of smiles and laughter” - Mommy Delicious
“The show is adorable, and sends a really good message to kids” - Broadway Spotted
“The musical is wonderful and is definitely a must see. So go on out there and have a piggy free
day!” - Macaroni Kid
“Piggy Nation: The Musical, is a heartwarming kid musical that is cute, funny and as an added bonus teaches your child little lessons on the way.” - Macaroni Kid
“This is a great show for kids and adults. I'm all for teaching lessons on good behavior and this show does exactly that with humor & music” - Boyz Rule Our World
“The show is is an endearing, fast moving 60 minute musical full of lessons in avoiding “piggy” behavior.” - Motherhood Later
“While the show’s concept is very “educational”, the execution of it is hardly preachy; everything is tongue-in-cheek and amusing.” - Mama’s Bites
“It is the perfect length and there was never a dull moment between the dancing, singing and the variety of animal actors & actresses zipping around the theater!” - A Child Grows
“We had a great time at the show and then talking about the show over dinner at a diner nearby. When we were getting organized to head home after dinner the table next to us gave us a huge compliment on how well behaved the children were. This made the children super happy and made mommy proud!” - A Child Grows
What some of the patrons are saying…
“My 4 year old niece was delighted. I would highly recommend this performance to young children between the ages of 3-7 years of age. There definitely was a lesson for all to take away from this musical.”
“We took our not yet 2 year old and 4 year old grandkids to see the show. They sat still for the entire performance. The 2 year old of course loved the music and characters. Our 4 year old got the message and the humor. I would definitely recommend (Piggy Nation) to others.”
“We brought our 3 1/2 yr old son to see Piggy Nation. He absolutely loved it and we did too. It was such a great show. The cast was fantastic and the writing was superb!”
“Was a very nice experience for young children to be introduced to a theatre setting. My young grandson was very excited to be going & once there wanted it to go on. The cast was on hand after the performance greeting & takeing pictures with the children, also the author of the book "Piggy Nation" Richard Rosser was on hand to do book signings and meet with the children. Would do this type of show with my grandchildren again & again there should be much more of this available to us...Very glad when I spotted it online & purchased the ticket's for the very first performance, it was great.”
“My favorite moment was my son’s face during the whole show” “It's a good intro to live theater for the young ones and entertaining for the parents as well”
“Our son absolutely loved it and we did too. It was such a great show. The cast was fantastic and the writing was superb!”
“Going in, I had expectations that it was going to be something for just kids and I thought I would be bored. But, it was just great…really great!”
Why is Piggy Nation right for you? Click here to find out!
Cast
12 female, 8 male; Flexible Casting
An 8 person version of the script is also available.
SAMMY HAMHOCK - A piglet who loves summer vacation. Son of Hank Hamhock.
BUNNY BOZELLI - A bunny who enjoys driving around town. (BUDDY if actor is male)
SANDY SQUIRRELSBY - A squirrel who likes to read in the park. (SONNY if actor is male)
KERRY CROWSON - A crow who is always dieting. (CARL if actor is male)
ROSY RAVENHORST - A gossipy raven. (RUSTY if actor is male)
HARRIET HARRELSON - A hare who is annoyed by slow drivers. (HARRY if actor is male)
MARY MOUSELY - A mouse who loves to dream of cheese and crackers. (MARTY if actor is male)
FELICIA FIREFLY - A firefly who wants peace and quiet. (FREDDY if actor is male)
RUBY RABBITSON - A rabbit who likes pedicures. (ROBBY if actor is male)
HANK HAMHOCK - A pig who works as a Piggy Patrol officer. Father of Sammy Hamhock.
CAPTAIN DAN DEERLING - A deer who is top dog of the Piggy Patrol. (DANA if actor is female)
BILLY BABOONSKY - A baboon who has trouble cleaning up after his pet. (BABS if actor is female)
MR. PRICKLES - Billy’s pet porcupine who likes to poop. (MS. PRICKLES if actor is female)
LARRY LIZARDO - A lizard who can’t stand dirt and grime. (LIZZY if actor is female)
TOMMY TURTLETON - A slow-driving, soup-loving turtle. (TAMMY if actor is female)
OLIVER OXLEY - An ox who likes to talk on his cell phone. (OLIVIA if actor is female)
ZOEY ZEBRANSKY - A zebra who enjoys jogging while listening to music. (ZANE if actor is male)
FANNY FLAMINGO - A flamingo who loves gardening.
RUDELLA LEPPÀRD - A leopard who is inconsiderate of others. Mother of Lacey Leppàrd.
LACEY LEPPÀRD - A leopard who loves blowing bubbles in the park. Daughter of Rudella Leppàrd.
Note: Piggy Nation consists of 20 animal characters but can be expanded to accommodate a larger cast. Many roles are flexible for male and female actors. The roles are also suited for actors of any age. There is an additional small-cast script for 8 actors.
Setting
A piggy neighborhood, multiple locations.
Running Time
2 Acts, Approx. 70 minutes
About the Authors
Richard Rosser (Book & Lyrics) Richard grew up in an Oklahoma household filled with books and music, attending many musical theater productions as an elementary student. Rosser performed in numerous theater productions while in high school and graduated from Washington and Lee University, where he became involved in filmmaking and won a Student Academy Award for his animated film No One For Chess. After earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from New York University, Richard worked on a number of children's programs for Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel, including Lizzie McGuire. After watching a man steal a parking space from his mother-in-law, Richard created Piggy Nation. Richard lives in Pacific Palisades with his wife, daughter and 2 dogs Rosco & Winnie.
Alec Wells (Composer) An Angeleno by way of North Carolina, Alec has spent the last several years pursuing his interests in music composition and writing for the stage and screen. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Alec has been an avid musician for most of his life. Alec has written several musicals, including Larry’s Rhetorical Conundrum, which won the award for playwriting at the North Carolina Theatre conference. Alec is also one-fourth of the comedy production team, The Outside Joke, which has had over two million cumulative hits on YouTube, The Huffington Post, and College Humor.
Why is Piggy Nation right for you? Click here to find out!
Royalties
Performance Royalties are based on theater particulars. Please fill out a production application for your personalized quote.
Materials
No deposit, no return! All rehearsal materials you receive are brand-new. Materials are provided on unbound three-hole-punched paper. Mark them up to your heart's desire—we don't want 'em back!
Orchestrations
Piano/Vocal Score
Production Resources
Music Tracks
Fully realized music tracks to use in performance instead of live musicians.
Logo/PR Pack
Includes high-resolution logo artwork, a ready-made show poster, a press packet with pull quotes and reviews, and reference photos to inform your design.
Reference Recording
Demo studio tracks or live audio from the show in performance.