Edgardo Lar Producciones

A new musical from Mexico

Imagination is the
best resource in the
midst of the worst
circumstances

Edgardo Lar
Producciones

edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511

Hubo Alguna Vez...

SHOW ESSENTIALS

23 Roles + 23 ensamble
Un-Rated
2 Acts

DURATION

120 minutes
WITH INTERMISSION
BOOK, MUSIC AND LYRICS

Edgardo Lar
CASTING

CAST SIZE: FLEXIBLE

CAST TYPE: CHILDREN
DANCING REQUIREMENT: MODERATE

SYNOPSIS

Edgardo Lar
Producciones
edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511

A group of children is trapped in the middle

of war. Hubo alguna vez... will be the
key to scape to a world full of fantasy where
our best known tales are not quite as you
remember them.
A stirring story of friendship and courage
that moves our most sensitive fibres.

Full Synopsis

ACT I

A FRENCH VILLAGE DURING WORLD WAR II

A bombing raid on an already devastated village in France separates a group of
children under the watchful eye of the French Resistance, which sought to bring
them to a safer area.

Amid the chaos, Ditz, a very young German soldier who despises the Final
Solution, deserts his Company to guide the children to safety in the remaining
ruins of a library. The children are desperately hiding from a vicious squad of
German soldiers sent specifically to capture them all and to take them to
concentration camps.

Meanwhile, the local French Resistance and Red Cross nurses frantically race to
find the children before the German soldiers.

INSIDE THE LIBRARY

While hiding in the library waiting for the allied forces to rescue them and to
overcome their fear and anxiety Ditz invents a game called NuncajamS, where
the children should describe their feelings through characters in stories in a world
of fantasy. The only rule is raise your hand for permission to say: Once upon a
time, and start a story that the child wants to tell. The idea captures the
childrens imagination when Ditz explains that they can escape for a moment to a
place where there is no fear, hunger or cold and nothing is taken too seriously: a
magical place called NuncajamS.

GERMAN POST
The Nazi captain is obsessed with catching the children but Fritz, a
rookie soldier hating his job becomes an obstacle to the Captains
ambition. The frustrated and angry Captain punishes Fritz by
leaving him to guard the camps ammunition and food while he
and the rest of the soldiers continue to search for the children.

A STREET
Phillipe, the Resistance leader, is frustrated by not been able
to find the children while Camille fears that the German
soldiers will kill them for helping the children.
Armand says that -though it seems silly- it would be better to
die fighting with his friends, giving meaning to their struggle to
defend their country and their ideals of freedom.

Edgardo Lar
Producciones

edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511

RED CROSS POST

Meanwhile at the Red Cross outpost, nurses comment that they would like to
survive for just another day, but if their destiny is to die after helping so many
people it wouldnt be such a tragedy after all.

ANOTHER STREET
The village women also want to help the children hoping that for just this once the
story would have a happy ending and children could saved.

INSIDE THE LIBRARY

The children are hungry and agree share the food but it is not enough to go
around. Durrel (the chronic child pessimist) begins to despair and in order to
distract him, Trop -the group leader- raises his hand saying, Once upon a time, a
boy named Oliver Twist, lived in a work house where he and his friends were
always hungry, and tells the children how the orphans used to imagine
delicious food to overcome their hunger.
Trop decides to go out on his own to find food and water for the group against
everyones better judgment.

OUTSIDE
Trop walks through the ruined village in search for food and is
optimistic that in time everything will have to improve.

GERMAN POST
Trop finds the German camp where he proceeds to steal a canteen
and a sack of food supplies. As he flees with the booty, he is shot
by the Nazi captain, who in a rage hits Fritz for failing to guard
the camp and for not shooting the child when he had the
chance.

RED CROSS
The seriously wounded Trop manages to reach the Red
Cross station where before losing consciousness gently
raises his hand saying: Once upon a time, a group of
fairies saved a child, as he passes out from pain, in his
dreams he travels to a fairyland, the fairies ask him to
choose between staying with them or returning to reality. He
chooses to return to help his friends and to find his parents.

After the fairies assure him that he will save his friends and will be back
with his parents forever, Trop regains consciousness and tries to return
immediately to his friends to bring them the supplies, but the nurses stop
him saying he is too weak to leave due to his loss of blood.

The German soldiers arrive at the Red Cross station in their search for children,
and while the nurses distract them, Trop flees with the supplies determined to
save his friends.

After the German troops finally leave, the nurses realize that Trop has escaped
and are completely distraught for the fact so many children are the casualties of
war thinking this most never happen again.

ACT II
INSIDE THE LIBRARY/ NuncajamaS
Ditz organises the children to open an entrance to a hidden tunnel as an escape
route in case the soldiers discover their hideout.

Trop returns badly wounded but surprises everyone with his overwhelming
enthusiasm and conviction that everything will be alright for all of them and that
soon he will be reunited with his parents.

German soldiers arrive to the roof of the library and discover a narrow crack that
leads into the library. The sound of soldiers terrorises the children and in order to
keep them quiet and to avoid giving themselves away, Ditz raises his hand
saying: Once upon a time ... " and reminds them of the tale of the seven little
goats who hid from the wolf.
The children hide as the soldiers unsuccessfully try to shine a torch light through
the narrow crack to see if there are children there. Finally, the soldiers decide to
return to their camp with orders to continue searching the area every hour.
As children emerge from hiding, Dinkah
remembers the Nazi soldiers entered her
home and how his parents and brother were
taken while she hid in fright, and cries
inconsolably saying that one day the soldiers will
find her just as the wolf finally trapped the little
goats. To keep her from suffering, Sant raises his hand
saying: Once upon a time, there was a wolf who did not
want to be a big bad wolf ...", the boys imagine a friendly
wolf not willing to scare others and laugh at his predicament.
They go back to digging their tunnel while the smaller ones take
a nap.

Edgardo Lar
Producciones

edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511

Raquel and Dietz in adolescent infatuation reflect on what would become of them
if they survive the war. Raquel wonders if Ditz could fall in love with her if they
survive and manage to grow up.

The sound of bombing in the distance awakens the children. Durrel changes his
fearful and pessimistic attitude inspired by his peers who apparently seem never
afraid. Sant is indeed very brave, but being completely honest with his friends,
admits that while he is not afraid of bullets or soldiers, his greatest fear is that - as
much he tries- he can not remember his parents faces. Sarah, shocked at Durrels
suffering, raises her hand and starts a story about how the stars in NuncajamS
are made up of childrens happy memories and how if any of the stars fall children
on earth lose that particular memory forever.
In their fantasy children are surrounded by pirates, mermaids, fairies and other
characters from the world of fantasy who explain to them that reality needs fantasy
as much as fantasy needs reality.

The childrens excitement and celebration raise cause a tremendous fuss which
draws the attention of a German soldier who is patrolling the area and who alerts
the rest of the squad.
The Resistance realizes that the Nazis have found the children and
follows them to the library where they engage them in combat to save
the children. After a terrible battle the Germans brutally slaughter all
the Resistance.

Hearing the shooting, Ditz urges the children to escape through

the tunnel. The fully grown adult Nazi soldiers are unable to enter
through the narrow crack to capture the children. All the
children leave through the escape tunnel but Trop is too
weak to crawl into the tunnel and urges Dietz to get himself
into the tunnel in order to be able to pull Trop after him. But
once Ditz is in the tunnel, Trop uses the last of his
strength to shove over a heavy bookshelf to cover the
tunnels opening and to fool the soldiers into believing
that there was really only one child hiding in the library.

Young Fritz is the only soldier capable of squeezing

through the crack and finds Trop barely alive laying on
top of the fallen bookshelf. The Captain orders Fritz to
immediately shoot the boy. Fritz cries and is horrified by
the order. To his surprise Trops consoles him as he holds
the barrel of Fritzs rifle to his own head saying: Once
upon a time, a lost boy who wanted to find his parents

CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
KIDS
Dinka 6 yrs.
Renard 8 yrs.
Sarah 9 yrs.
Raquel 11 yrs.
Durrell 11 yrs.
Jacob 9 yrs.
Trop 10 yrs.
Sant 13 yrs.

SOLDIERS
Fritz 17 yrs.
Ditz 19 yrs.
Hanz 20 yrs.
Adolf 30 yrs.
Herr Kaptn 35 yrs.

NURSES
Anne 25 yrs
Margot 24 yrs.
Catherine 22 yrs.

FRENCH RESISTANCE
Phillipe 19 yrs.
Armand 18 yrs.
Pierre 22 yrs.
Claire 23 yrs.
Camille 17 yrs.

ENSEMBLE
Adult Raquel, Adult Ditz, Fairies,
Wolf, Elfin, Pirate, Captain, Moms,
Mermaids, Maoris, Soldiers, Orphans.

Edgardo Lar
Producciones

edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511

Full Song List

Hubo Alguna Vez
Conmocin
NuncajamS
No Estara Tan Mal
Hoy Toca Comer
Se Que Llegar
Hadas
NuncajamS, Nunca Jams
Entreacto
Quiero Ser una Vedette
Si un Da Llego a Crecer
La Noche Empieza Ya
Estrellas
Si Quieres Hacer Cuentos
Muerte de Trop
Gracias
Hubo Alguna Vez

Materials
Full Score
Vocal Score
Libretto
Reference recording

Show History
The show opened in Mexico City with great success
with the Thomas Jefferson Musical Theatre Company
Foundation, a prestigious Mexican musical theatre
group for youngsters , with international credits which
include the New York International Musical Theater
Festival (NYMF 09) , the DAEGU International Musical
Festival and the the WorldExpo Shanghai 2010.

Edgardo Lar
Producciones
edgardo.lar@me.com
www.HuboAlgunaVez.com
Ph.+521(55)21282511