The jungle is jumpin’ with a jazzy beat in Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS. Specially adapted from the classic Disney animated film, Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS features a host of colorful characters and your favorite songs from the movie. Banished by the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan, a human boy named Mowgli and his panther friend, Bagheera, are on the run in the deepest parts of the jungle. On their journey, the two meet a sinister snake named Kaa, a herd of elephants and a giant bear named Baloo, who teaches them the swingin’ musical rhythms of the jungle. After surviving a dangerous encounter with a band of monkeys led by King Louie, Mowgli and Bagheera are forced to run for their lives. When Shere Khan returns, our heroes must rally their fellow animals into battle and restore peace throughout the jungle.

Musical Numbers

Opening Number- You’ve Got a Friend in Me with Special Guests from Theater Discovery Camp 

1. Jungle Prologue- Full Ensemble

2. Kaa the Snake- Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle

3. Trust in Me- Kaa the Snake, Coil 1, Coil 2, Coil 3, Mowgli

4. Night into Day- Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle

5. Colonel Hathi’s March- Colonel Hathi, Baby Elephant, Elephant Ensemble

6. Baloo the Bear- Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle

7. The Bare Necessities- Baloo, Mowgli, Bagheera, Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle, Kaa the Snake, Coil 1, Coil 2, Coil 3, Colonel Hathi, Baby Elephant, Elephant Ensemble, Silly Monkey, Sassy Monkey, Grumpy Monkey, Dizzy, Ziggy, Izzy, Wolves & Bees

8. Monkey Business- Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle

9. I Wan’na Be Like You- King Louie, Baloo, Old Monkey, Sassy Monkey, Grumpy Monkey, Silly Monkey, Monkey Ensemble, Backstage Vocals

10. I Wan’na Be Like You (Reprise)- Baloo

11. Shere Khan the Tiger- Shere Khan, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle

12. Mowgli Runs- Shanti, Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle, Mowgli, Dizzy, Ziggy, Iggy

13. That’s What Friends Are For (Part 1)- Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle, Shere Khan

14. That’s What Friends Are For (Part 2)- Jungle Bamboo, Jungle Banyan, Jungle Lotus, Jungle Thistle, Mowgli, Shere Khan
15. The Bare Necessities (Finale)- Full Ensemble
16.  I Wan’na Be Like You (Bows)- Full Ensemble

17.  I Wan’na Be Like You (Bows)- Full Ensemble with Special Guests from Theater Discovery Camp 

The Franke Center Youth Theater Jungle Book Kids Cast List

Mowgli                        Cashton Markos                     

Shanti                         Bailey McCormick       

Shere Khan                William Zeisser

Baloo                          Mason Popovits          

Jungle Banyan          Ondine Dopp

Jungle Lotus             Mack Lessnau

Jungle Bamboo         Thora Dopp

Jungle Thistle           Brinley McCormick

Kaa the Snake           Lyla Holm        

Coil 1                          Sylvia Swender

Coil 2                          Emma Abbey

Coil 3                          Harper Guthrie

Bagheera                   Emma Popovits                      

King Louie                 Lincoln Freds                          

Old Monkey               Bentley Nye    

Grumpy Monkey       Lincoln Weaver                       

Sassy Monkey           Kellen Kilmer                          

Silly Monkey              Johnny Rourk

Colonel Hathi             Carter Kanaga

Baby Elephant           Andrew Swender

Ziggy                          Mason Hanson                       

Dizzy                           Henry Harris

Iggy & Bees               Olivia Shedd

Monkey Ensemble: Jameson Cape, Elizabeth Carr, Cadence Ganka, Meredith Harris, Callahan Knoll, Novalee Lipp, Elyse Priest, Maverick Popovits, Norah Slager, Calvin Stults, Tessa van der Puyl, Matthew Zeisser                      

Elephant Ensemble: Annabelle Camp, Kennedy Guthrie, Henry Langford, Natalie Shedd, Eloise Weaver

Wolves & Bees: Max McCarthy, Z McCarthy, Madison Schmidt

Backstage Vocals: Emma Abbey, Lincoln Freds, Harper Guthrie, Mason Hanson, Henry Harris, Lyla Holm, Kellen Kilmer, Bentley Nye, Emma Popovits, Johnny Rourk, Sylvia Swender, Lincoln Weaver, William Zeisser        

    

Cast Bios

Emma Abbey (Coil 2, Backstage Vocals) is in 5th grade. She has been in five shows and her favorite was Finding Nemo. An interesting fact is that she loves animals. 

Annabelle Camp (Elephant Ensemble) is in 7th grade. This is her first show. An interesting fact about her is that she plays piano. 

Jameson Cape (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade. A favorite show for Jameson was Dot and the Kangaroo. An interesting fact about him is that he can make a dolphin call under water.

Elizabeth Carr (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade. She has done two shows, with her favorite being 101 Dalmatians. An interesting fact is that she has two dogs and they are both dachshunds. 

Ondine Dopp (Jungle Banyan) is in 6th grade. She has done nine shows, and her favorite is Puffs. An interesting fact is that she thinks plays are very fun. 

Thora Dopp (Jungle Bamboo) is in 4th grade. She has been in 6 or 7 shows. Her favorite was The Claw. An interesting fact is that she likes to hang upside down. 

Lincoln Freds (King Louie, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade and he has been in two shows. His favorite show was Beetlejuice Jr. An interesting fact is that he is a major Sonic and Mario fan. 

Cadence Ganka (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade and she has been in three shows. Her favorite was Finding Nemo. An interesting fact is that she lived in Colorado. 

Harper Guthrie (Coil 3, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade and this is her second show. Their favorite show is Beetlejuice. An interesting fact is that she loves to wear ties. 

Kennedy Guthrie (Elephant Ensemble) is in 5th grade. Her favorite is Finding Nemo. She can make frogs out of beads. 

Mason Hanson (Ziggy, Backstage Vocals) is in 4th grade. He has been in four shows. His favorite show was Finding Nemo. An interesting fact about Mason is that he skipped 2nd grade. 

Henry Harris (Dizzy, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade and this is his first show. An interesting fact about him is that he loves to go riding. 

Meredith Harris (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade and this is her first show. An interesting fact about herself is she considers herself feral.  

Lyla Holm (Kaa the Snake, Backstage Vocals) is in 5th grade and has been in five shows. Her favorite is Finding Nemo. An interesting fact is that she used to wrestle. 

Carter Kanaga (Colonel Hathi) is in 7th grade and this is his second show. His favorite show is Beetlejuice Jr. An interesting fact is that he rides dirt bikes. 

Kellen Kilmer (Sassy Monkey, Backstage Vocals) is in 8th grade. He has been in fifteen shows. His favorite show is Lion King, where he played Zazu. An interesting fact is that he is a Slytherin. 

Callahan Knoll (Monkey Ensemble) is in 5th grade. This is her first show. Callahan has had a stuffed animal since she was three years old! 

Henry Langford (Elephant Ensemble) is in 4th grade and has been in 20 shows. An interesting fact about Henry is that he loves art. 

Mack Lessnau (Jungle Lotus) is in 4th grade and she has been in two shows. Her favorite show is The Jungle Book. She plays basketball. 

Novalee Lipp (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade and this is her first show. She loves to make bracelets. 

Cashton Markos (Mowgli) is in 8th grade. He has been in 8 shows, and his favorite was Willy Wonka. An interesting fact is that he loves Golden Girls. 

Max McCarthy (Wolves & Bees) is in 5th grade and has been in 5 shows. Their favorite show was Beauty and the Beast. 

Z McCarthy (Wolves & Bees)  is in 4th grade and has been in five shows. One interesting fact is that they like Pokemon. 

Bailey McCormick (Shanti) is in 5th grade. She has been in four shows. Her favorite was Aristocats. An interesting fact is that her mom convinced her to do theater.

Brinley McCormick (Jungle Thistle) is in 4th grade and has done four shows. Her favorite show is Puffs. An interesting fact is that she can play the piano. 

Bentley Nye (Old Monkey, Backstage Vocals) is in 6th grade. He has been in 16 shows, and his favorite was Matilda or Lion King. He enjoys jumping on the trampoline alone. 

Emma Popovits (Bagheera, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade. She has been in ten shows and her favorite was Aristocats. She loves dancing and acting. 

Mason Popovits (Baloo) is in 8th grade and he has been in ten shows. His favorite show is Puffs. An interesting fact is that he has never beaten his dad in Axis and Allies. 

Maverick Popovits (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade and this is his first show. An interesting fact about him is that he is a sports kid. 

Elyse Priest (Monkey Ensemble) is in 4th grade. This is her second show, but her favorite show was Finding Nemo. An interesting fact is that she was born in Mexico. 

Johnny Rourk (Silly Monkey, Backstage Vocals) is in 5th grade. He has been in 2 shows. An interesting fact is that his favorite tv show is TADC. 

Madison Schmidt (Wolf & Bee) is in 7th grade. She has done six shows and her favorite was Beetlejuice Jr. An interesting fact is that she plays piano. 

Olivia Shedd (Iggy & Bee) is in 4th grade. She has been in two shows and this is her favorite show. Olivia is good at making bags. 

Natalie Shedd (Elephant Ensemble) is in 5th grade and has been in two shows. Her favorite was Finding Nemo. An interesting fact about her is that she loves dogs. 

Norah Slager (Monkey Ensemble) is in 5th grade. She has been in one show and it’s her favorite! An interesting fact is that she is always in the middle. 

Calvin Stults (Monkey Ensemble) is in 6th grade. He has been in two shows and his favorite was Beetlejuice Jr. An interesting fact is that he can’t breathe under water. 

Andrew Swender (Baby Elephant) is in 5th grade. He has been in three shows, and his favorite is Jungle Book. An interesting fact about him is that he has four siblings. 

Sylvia Swender (Coil 1, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade. She has been in twelve shows, but her favorite show was James and the Giant Peach. An interesting fact is that she has been a dancer for nine years. 

Tessa van der Puyl (Monkey Ensemble) is in 6th grade and has been in four shows. Her favorite show was 101 Dalmatians. One interesting fact is that she is a sticker collector. 

Eloise Weaver (Elephant Ensemble) is in 5th grade and has been in five shows. Her favorite show was Horton Hears a Who. An interesting fact is that she did music class when she was one. 

Lincoln Weaver (Grumpy Monkey, Backstage Vocals) is in 7th grade, and he has been in 17 shows. His favorite show was The Addams Family. An interesting fact about him is that he has had three open-heart surgeries. God bless you, and enjoy the show. 

Matthew Zeisser (Monkey Ensemble) is in 5th grade and has been in two shows. His favorite show is The Lion King. An interesting fact is that he has been in the newspaper before. 

William Zeisser (Shere Khan, Backstage Vocals) is in 8th grade and has been in five shows. His favorite show is Puffs. An interesting fact is that this is his second villain role. 

Production Team

Director: Hallie Machalka

Music Director: Alaina Stafford

Assistant Music Director: Rob Monahan

Choreographer: Hallie Machalka 

Producer: Jen Popovits

Costume Designer: Allison Ebner 

Costume Assistants: Angela Shedd & Bella Rupp

Lighting Designer: Matthew Seifert

Set Designer: Hallie Machalka

Lead Set Builder: Scott Hanson & Nick Popovits

Set Dresser: Kathy Seifert

Production Assistant: Kaya Oswald

Assistant Producer: Dede Weaver

Stage Manager: Adrienne Dysinger

Sound Engineer: Annabelle Machalka

Sound Operator: Alaina Stafford

Light Operator: Claire Swender, Theo Colclasure, & Micah Hutchinson

Director of Youth Programming: Allison Ebner 

House Manager: Elizabeth Kipp

Program: Jodi Haywood & Jen Popovits

Poster: Jodi Haywood

Box Office: Jodi Haywood & Bob Veramay

Production Photography: Event Photography with Jeff Wilson

Backstage Crew: Orehn Hutchinson & Kaya Oswald

Spotlights: Elena Reed & Henry Swender 

Set Builders: Scott Hanson, Ryan McCarthy, Nick Popovits, Mike Tartaglia

Makeup Design: Drew Root

Special Thanks To: 

This production is especially meaningful because our very own Jungle Book cast helped bring so much of the magic to life by creating many of the sets and costumes you see on stage.

A big Thank you to the Marshall Community Foundations for sponsoring Jungle Book kids.

A special thank you to Kathy Seifert for sharing her time and talents while teaching our cast the art of set dressing. We are also incredibly grateful to Allison Ebner and Angela Shedd for the countless hours they spent helping costume this production with our cast. 

Finally, thank you to all of the parents, family members, and friends who generously donated their time, energy, and afternoons to support this production. Your encouragement and commitment have made all the difference. You are the foundation of your cast member’s success, and we are deeply grateful for everything you do.