Barb Gatlin’s rowdy rendition of The Jungle Book, based upon “The Mowgli Tales” based on the “Mowgli” stories by Rudyard Kipling, is a funny and energetic telling of the accounts of Mowgli the Man Cub, Baloo the Bear, Father Wolf, Shere Kahn, and an entire jungle of animals.
This story, not unlike that of the classic 1997 Walt Disney Productions’ The Jungle Book, follows the life of Mowgli, which means little frog in the language of the jungle, from the time of his infant arrival to Father Wolf, leader of all animals in the jungle, to the defeat of Shere Kahn the tiger in his early teens.
Crowd interaction is a large part of the show. From the start, wild monkeys fill the aisles as they run to the animal gathering, rubbing elbows with crowd members and picking tasty bugs from their clothes. Then after the intermission, those crazy monkeys once again prance down the aisles for a special monkey dance.
The story begins with the village story-teller, Nyra, recounting the story of Mowgli’s life. Nyra’s tale begins with your average jungle meeting, doubling as an introduction of the characters. Part of the way through the meeting, Shere Kahn the tiger struts her way onto the stage to announce the presence of and her claim to the man cub. After Father Wolf refuses the demand of Shere Kahn, he appoints Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, and Kaa the snake to the jungle education of the newly dubbed Mowgli.
As the story progresses, we get a taste of Mowgli’s jungle education as his three mentors quiz him. Just as the testing finishes, Rikki Tikki Tavi the mongoose runs in to announce that Father Wolf has missed a kill. Jungle law states that once the leader of the animals misses a kill, he is no longer able to rule.
Another jungle meeting is called to assess the situation. Shere Kahn once again makes a grand entrance to announce that she will take control of the jungle in two days because she fears nothing.
After Balloo informs him that Shere Kahn’s only fear is fire, Mowgli makes a trip to the village to retrieve some. Along the way, Mowgli is captured by a guard patrolling the jungle. The guard takes Mowgli back to the village to detain him when a woman, who we later find out is Mowgli’s lost mother, recognizes the boy.
Mowgli explains his need for fire and is allowed to take it back to the jungle where he again meets Shere Kahn. As Shere Kahn explains that she fears nothing and should rule the jungle, Mowgli presents the fire to a now-very-frightened Shere Kahn who runs off with her tale tucked between her legs.
Mowgli proclaims his position as protector and leader of the jungle and all is well that ends well.