HARLOW'S HARMONICA

A mysterious boy teaches townspeople a lesson in Rae’s theatrical retelling of “The Pied Piper.”

Enigmatic harmonica player Harlow Freedman Charisma learns of a reward offered to anyone who can get rid of the enormous rats that have overrun Houston’s Third Ward (“shotgun houses on cinder blocks, empty lots full of trash, and apartment windows with broken promises”). Human-size tough-talkers, the rats are led by Clydell and Bonnisha, the rat gang’s alarmingly fecund matriarch. Movingly, the deal Harlow strikes with the townspeople suggests the childhood he lost when his 10th birthday was cut short by his parents’ death. His price: a birthday cake, a particular painting, and to be taught to fish and to read. “Artist” is the only adult human character who views Harlow with empathy and understanding. Young as he is, she tells him, “You look nearly 30 and sometimes nearly 100 but your eyes look 10 years old. Your soul is 10 years old. I feel it.” In a twist connecting the duplicitous Mayor to Harlow’s painful past, his betrayal of the boy results in the departure of all but one of the town’s children. More an example of magical realism than fairy tale, this compelling, seriocomic piece, based on “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” is rooted in a young Black boy’s legacy of inherited talent and in the tragedy that shaped his life—the loss of his parents to racist violence, depicted here in an almost dreamlike sequence. Written by an experienced stage actor, playwright, theater teacher, and puppeteer, this is a fully realized theater script for young audiences complete with scene changes, stage and voiceover directions, sound cues, and suggestions for costumes, lighting, music, sets, and puppetry. Paul’s full-color, complementary cartoon-style illustrations are limited but effective, and intriguing graphic design choices add visual impact; the book has vivid color blocks and pops of color in the text, and the meanings of select words such as jump, up, and under are emphasized by their placement on the page.

Funny, thought-provoking, and emotionally resonant, this polished script is ready for the stage.