Ask any little kids if they would rather listen to a story on a tape or have somebody tell it to them in person. Almost invariably, they'll opt for the real, live storytelling. And if the teller can provide music to go along with it and a bit of show-and-tell talent, too, well, all the better.
That's exactly what Frances McIntosh will be doing Sunday afternoon at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Cruz Bay when she relates "Hope to the End," the tale of a certain adventuresome rabbit — a story that she wrote and then recorded for a CD with her own piano accompaniment.
The bunny is Monsieur Bon Ami Lapin — that's French for something along the lines of Mr. Dear Friend Rabbit. He, like so many other hares in the lexicon of children's literature (Peter Rabbit, Bugs Bunny, the White Rabbit and the March Hare, the Velveteen Rabbit and Pooh's pal just plain Rabbit), manages to get himself into some frightful fixes but with luck and a little help comes through unscathed in the end.
As McIntosh tells the tale, she punctuates it with piano trills, thumps and pianissimos that convey surprise, fear, threat and relief as the story progresses.
An old French tale and a stuffed rabbit originally from France "who has been a member of our household for years" inspired McIntosh to create "Hope to the End." The stuffed M. Lapin has subsequently taken on a life of his own, she relates: "He began wearing a bow tie and lobbying for me to take his ‘opera,' as he mistakenly calls it, to Hollywood or Broadway." Although that's not yet on the agenda, "he is thrilled to be making a personal appearance on St. John," she adds.
McIntosh, who taught briefly at St. Croix's Good Hope School in the '70s, is a Vermont- based writer, photographer, pianist, composer, graphic artist and stage actress. She has been involved over the years with Cruz Bay resident Doris Jadan in the development of programs at the Ivan Jadan Museum. The piano to be used for the presentation Sunday was donated to the church congregation earlier this year by Doris Jadan.
Reading aloud to others is "a long-standing tradition in my family," McIntosh says. "More than film, video or movies, I enjoy radio and the spoken word." Further, she is "fascinated by the storytelling powers of music, even when there are no words."
She took up the formal study of music theory and serious piano composition just six years ago. "I have always loved Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and wondered why we don't have more work in that tradition," she says.
Well, now there is "Hope to the End." Doris Jadan says she has listened to the CD several times, "and each time I pick up something different. It's like The Canterbury Tales."
Not entirely. The rabbit's tale is altogether suitable and intended for children, although enjoyable for adults as well. The presentation begins at 4 p.m. Admission is $5 for children and $10 for adults. Tickets are being sold on St. John at the Lutheran church and the Jadan Museum. They're available on St. Thomas at The Education Station and the University of the Virgin Islands Humanities office. To learn more, call 776-6423.
