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No Time for Monkey BusinessA Tale of learning to take RESPONSIBILITY
Children's Musical written and directed by Betsy Lee Bailey 2025
Based on the Aesop Fable "The Fox and the Monkey."
FLEXIBLE CAST: 25+ child actors ages 5-12 RUNNING TIME: approx. 30 min. "A true leader proves himself by his wise leadership qualities and by NOT always thinking of himself." 
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Production Materials:
Director's Script - with stage directions, costume ideas, and choreography tips Production Kit - Reproducible Booklet Script, Coloring Page Activity and instructions, and Performance License for one series of shows Piano/Vocal Folio - Main 10 Songs of the show, no incidentals or reprises |
Main Songs from the Show:
02. A Trio of Tricky Trappers 03. What a Beautiful Day 06. What to Do? 07. The Zebra's Song 08. The Fancy Bird's Song 09. The Rhino's Song 10. The Hyena's Song 11. Monkey See, Monkey Do 12. Coronation/How Could This Be? 15. If Not Me, Then Who? |
Show Order Accompaniment Tracks:
NOTES:
Many Children's Theater acting companies and school music teachers look for shows with FLEXIBLE CAST requirements. In Children's Theater, sometimes the girls outnumber the boys 3 to 1. "No Time for Monkey Business" is a good solution to this problem because there are very few gender specific roles. For instance, the three Trappers ought to be larger boys who can carry off the Monkey. The Old King Lion and the Rhino are the other two roles that would work best as males, but do not necessarily need to be. The other animals could pretty much be any creatures the kids want to be, male or female.
COSTUMES could be as elaborate as budget allows. I was able to create costumes within my meager budget by rummaging at Thrift stores and copying ideas off the internet. However, it could also be more simply done by having the children wear the Camp T-shirt and shorts with paper "crowns" sporting pictures of the heads of chosen jungle animals. The Trappers could wear plastic Safari hats.
PROPS are few: King's robe, crown, stick, ropes (to make traps), a net, a fake banana, a fake log
SET - whatever you can use to suggest a jungle - potted plants and trees, painted backdrop, vines to make a "blind" for the trappers.
TRAPS - these need to be somewhat workable (See our video for the ideas we came up with)
Many Children's Theater acting companies and school music teachers look for shows with FLEXIBLE CAST requirements. In Children's Theater, sometimes the girls outnumber the boys 3 to 1. "No Time for Monkey Business" is a good solution to this problem because there are very few gender specific roles. For instance, the three Trappers ought to be larger boys who can carry off the Monkey. The Old King Lion and the Rhino are the other two roles that would work best as males, but do not necessarily need to be. The other animals could pretty much be any creatures the kids want to be, male or female.
COSTUMES could be as elaborate as budget allows. I was able to create costumes within my meager budget by rummaging at Thrift stores and copying ideas off the internet. However, it could also be more simply done by having the children wear the Camp T-shirt and shorts with paper "crowns" sporting pictures of the heads of chosen jungle animals. The Trappers could wear plastic Safari hats.
PROPS are few: King's robe, crown, stick, ropes (to make traps), a net, a fake banana, a fake log
SET - whatever you can use to suggest a jungle - potted plants and trees, painted backdrop, vines to make a "blind" for the trappers.
TRAPS - these need to be somewhat workable (See our video for the ideas we came up with)
Synopsis
In a mythical jungle, somewhere, lives a community of jungle animals. After ruling many years in a kingdom where everyone lives amicably one with another, the wise old King dies leaving a void for a new ruler. As the animals are trying to decide what to do, four animals step up and promote themselves to be the new king or queen. The Fox realizes that none of these "candidates" offer true leadership and begins to tell the animals what they really need. He is suddenly interrupted by the Monkey. The Monkey has stolen the old King's royal robe and does a song and dance that makes him seem like the best choice for the new King. The Animals are fooled into accepting him. In the meantime, three Trappers from the London Zoo have entered the jungle searching for the most exotic, the most exquisite, and the most entertaining animals they can find to take back to England. They set their sights on catching the Monkey..
What follows is a bunch of hilarious twists and turns as the Fox "helps" the Monkey avoid the hunter's traps.
In a mythical jungle, somewhere, lives a community of jungle animals. After ruling many years in a kingdom where everyone lives amicably one with another, the wise old King dies leaving a void for a new ruler. As the animals are trying to decide what to do, four animals step up and promote themselves to be the new king or queen. The Fox realizes that none of these "candidates" offer true leadership and begins to tell the animals what they really need. He is suddenly interrupted by the Monkey. The Monkey has stolen the old King's royal robe and does a song and dance that makes him seem like the best choice for the new King. The Animals are fooled into accepting him. In the meantime, three Trappers from the London Zoo have entered the jungle searching for the most exotic, the most exquisite, and the most entertaining animals they can find to take back to England. They set their sights on catching the Monkey..
What follows is a bunch of hilarious twists and turns as the Fox "helps" the Monkey avoid the hunter's traps.
SAMPLE PAGES from the DIRECTOR'S SCRIPT
SAMPLE PAGES from PIANO/VOCAL FOLIO
Video from the live Summer Theater Camp show June 28, 2025 in Provo, Utah.