ShapeShifter

A Comanche Musical

Change is coming. The Ancestors spoke of it. It’s 1894 when O‑Ray, a Comanche teen, innocently considers what it would be like to see the world through the eyes of an animal. Soon after an alternate world of mysterious creatures and talking animals reveals itself. But when O-Ray encounters a gigantic snake with wings and later Nunupi, little troll-like people, she fears for the safety of her life and that of her people. Telling her ahpu (father) of the encounter, together they inform Medicine Man who warns everyone about the unknown creatures. Medicine Man then instructs the warriors to find and capture the snake with wings to ensure the safety of the Comanche people.

Then the unthinkable happens, O-Ray shapeshifts into a gray wolf! Soon after Hummingbird, her mother in her shapeshifter form who passed away when O-Ray was an infant, arrives to help her navigate this alternate world of talking animals. O-Ray then meets Mustang, a young Comanche warrior in his shapeshifter form, who translates the ancient words of their ancestors that appear to her in the forms of two white buffalo spirits.

O-Ray must figure out the truth of who the snake and Nunupi are and which one is responsible for wreaking havoc on her people. But when a young boy is taken by Suhu Mupitsu, a mammoth owl known to hunt children out after dark, O‑Ray and Mustang must find the boy before he vanishes forever.

It is here the Comanche people find themselves on the cusp of an ever-changing world and they cling to the one thing fear can’t diminish . . . hope.

ShapeShifter is a stage musical with melodies, music, lyrics, and a book by Apryl Allen.

Playwright: Apryl Allen     Composer: Apryl Allen     Lyricist: Apryl Allen

Characters: O-Ray / O-Wolf (Soprano), Ayoko / Hummingbird (Alto), Young Muutuumi / Mustang (Tenor), Tuhu Mua O-Ray’s father (Baritone), Medicine Man & Snake with Wings (Bass), Old Muutuumi (Narrator), Nunupi (puppets), and 2 White Buffalo Spirits (pre-recorded Comanche dialogue by Elders)