The Jungle Book (musical)

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The Jungle Book - The Musical (Hebrew: ספר הג'ונגל - המחזמר) is an Israeli musical based on Rudyard Kipling’s book by the same name, with notable influence by Disney’s 1967 film adaptation thereof. It was adapted by Ephraim Sidon, with music composed by Miron Minster [he] and Ariel Zilber. Hanoch Rosen directed the original production in 1996 and the revival in 2024.

The musical was first performed at the Beit Lessin Theater in Tel Aviv in 1996, and at the Nega Hall in Jaffa, where it ran for 211 performances in front of approximately 300,000 viewers. The musical was produced in collaboration with Tamir Productions Ltd., and won the Israeli Theater Prize in the Musical of the Year category for 1996. The musical's songs, along with a shortened version of the story narrated by Avi Yaffe as Packli the squirrel, were distributed on VHS. In December 1996, a film called "Jungle Hero" was produced for the Israeli Children's Channel directed by Natan Gur Levy, documenting the behind-the-scenes of the show.^[1][2] At the end of November 2013, Classiclet released a DVD containing the full version of the 1996 musical. Over time, this production, along with the musical's song cassette, became a cult film among young people who watched it as children, and even "active screening" events were held based on it.^[3][4]

In 2002, it returned to the stage once again for 30 performances in front of approximately 50,000 viewers, and auditions were held on the Israeli Children's Channel for children to play the role of Mowgli.

Between April 17, 2002, and Sukkot 2003, the musical was performed at the Ramat Gan Safari (produced by Miki Peled - Solan Productions), where an additional 200,000 people saw it. Afterward, the musical returned to halls throughout the country from Sukkot 2003 to the summer of 2004.

In Hanukkah 2013, the musical was staged by the Beit Zvi acting school for 50 performances (in collaboration with Tamir Productions Ltd., who produced the first production of the musical), directed by Hanoch Rosen and featuring students from the class of 2013, Beit Zvi graduates, and children.

In July 2014, the musical was staged again at the Ramat Gan Safari produced by Miki Peled - Solan Productions.

In August 2024, the musical returned to the stage, again directed by Hanoch Rosen, and featuring actors who played in the original version. Tuvia Tzafir as Baloo the bear, Sassi Keshet as Bagheera the panther, Eli Danker as Shere Khan the tiger, Yossi Toledo as Kaa the snake, Avi Yaffe as Packli the squirrel, and Pini Kidron as the leader of the elephants, with the actor Eddie Alterman replacing the original monkey leader, who was Yossi Toledo in the original production.^[5][6] The plot and text remained mostly the same, as did the songs, except for two: "Monkey King," which was replaced with a song about the monkey leader's desire to be like Mowgli, and "Dangers of the Jungle" by Bagheera, which was replaced with a song by Bagheera about a happy day in the jungle.^[7]

To comply with laws restricting the employment of minors, in the revival there are eleven children playing Mowgli and Bana. In the original production, when Tom Avni played Mowgli, this law was not enforced, so he only had one replacement: Oshri Cohen.

Raksha, a kind-hearted wolf, finds a small baby who was swept away in a wrecked boat, and she adopts him along with her little cubs. She names the human cub she finds Mowgli.

Mowgli grows up in the jungle with his friends Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther, Packli the squirrel, and other animals.

After hearing that the cruel tiger Shere Khan has returned to the jungle, Mowgli's friends advise him to go to the village of the humans. Mowgli thinks they are not his friends and runs away from them. On his way, he encounters a cunning snake named Kaa who wants to hypnotize him. Luckily for Mowgli, Shere Khan sees Mowgli and fights with Kaa over the prey. While Shere Khan and Kaa are fighting each other, Mowgli meets a group of monkeys who lock him in a cage. Luckily for Mowgli, Baloo the bear disguises himself as a monkey and dances with the monkeys, and Mowgli and Baloo escape from them.

When Shere Khan finds Mowgli and Baloo, Mowgli throws a burning branch at Shere Khan, and Shere Khan runs away from the jungle.

He meets Bana, a girl from the human village who was walking in the jungle. After all the adventures he has been through, Mowgli realizes how dangerous jungle life is for him, he decides to join her, and he says goodbye to his jungle friends.

Additional actors: Yehuda Nahari, Gili Gabel, Shahar Matlon, Noam Amit, Yifat Aharon, Yotam Kuznets, Yoav Milstein.

Adaptation and lyrics: Efraim Sidon Direction: Hanoch Rosen Music: Miron Minster and Ariel Zilber Set design: Avi Shkowi Lighting: Alon Porat and Amir Brenner Costumes: Ella Kolsnik Movement: Marina Beltov Acrobatics and stage combat: Ilan Gazit

The musical's songs (as written on the DVD cover of the musical):

• Musical page on the "Tamir Productions" website
• Musical page on the "Beit Zvi" acting school website
• ספר הג'ונגל, במיזם "אישים" לתיעוד היצירה הישראלית
• "ספר הג'ונגל", במסד הנתונים הקולנועיים IMDb (באנגלית)קטגוריה: ויקינתונים - השוואת ערכים: חסרקטגוריה: ויקינתונים - השוואת ערכים: חסר: מזהה IMDb
• יהודה ביטון, פנטומימה בג'ונגל, באתר הארץ, 1 בדצמבר 2002
• מרב יודילוביץ', "ספר הג'ונגל" יועלה בספארי רמת גן, באתר ynet, 6 באפריל 2003
• ynet, ובתפקיד מוגלי: אושרי כהן, באתר ynet, 27 באוגוסט 2008
• עידו סולומון, מחפשים את מוגלי החדש, באתר מאקו, 3 באוקטובר 2013
• עליס בליטנטל, ג'ונגל איכותי, באתר News1 מחלקה ראשונה, 29 בנובמבר 2013