(For production by College/University Groups, Community Groups, High Schools, LDS & Other Church Groups, Youth Theatres)
The story of an ordinary woman, yet the show is nothing but extraordinary. This is an unusual musical journey through a life that could be any relation to any one of us. Tila, the author’s Hispanic Latter-Day Saint, Pioneer Grandmother, Domitila Trujillo, (1902-1971), was patient, optimistic, beautiful, and wise. As a young girl who struggled to make soft tortillas good enough for her older brothers to chew, not crunch, and swallow down without choking, Tila had the faith that her prayers for help, would assist her. They did. The author is glad her grandmother wrote about it in her brief personal history when she was 57 years old. She also wrote about going to boarding school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she learned to knit and crochet with the other girls. She and Grandpa Trujillo exchanged notes to each other in a ledger. Tila’s journey through the first half of the twentieth century comprises many stories — all true, as she experiences friends her age leaving to serve in the Great War (as World War One was called back then), the Spanish Flu Epidemic, joining the LDS Church when Mormon missionaries arrive in Taos, marrying her friend’s brother at age 17, waiting three years for him to also join the LDS Church, the Great Depression, World War Two and her husbands contribution toward the creation of the Atomic Bomb in the secret city of Los Alamos, New Mexico.
PLAY DETAILS:
- 1f.
- Two chairs, a guitar, and a trunk of props
- Simple costume
- About 90 minutes.
- ORDER #2102
REVIEWS:
Laura Bulkin of Taos News.com (October 2019)
“A unique Taos family history … brought to vivid life.”
Liz-Winslow (October 2019)
“You’ll really enjoy this… It stimulated so much conversation and interaction and memories near and far.”
Lauren LaRocca, Santa Fe New Mexican — 2019
“Through Tila’s eyes, Chatwin Murset broaches some of this country’s great glories and tragedies: the two wars to end all wars, the influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, and the Manhattan Project. Chatwin Murset may be telling the story of the everyday life of a Hispanic family but, ultimately, also the story of America.”
Marilynn Wood, St. George, 2019
“Her acting is sometimes tender, sometimes amusing, and sometimes feisty. Her singing is always stunning…it is well worth the effort if you can get there. It is perfect for all ages. The young and old will enjoy it.”
LISTED AS A “BEST PLAY’ (1 of 3) FOR THE 2019 ASSOCIATION FOR MORMON LETTERS BEST PLAY AWARD
PERUSAL MATERIALS
No performance rights are granted to anyone in the possession of a Perusal Pages document, nor are you obligated to a performance run by the possession of the document.
SONG LIST
ACT ONE
- #1 MY NAME
- #2 THE PRAYER
- #3 TORTILLAS BY TILA
- #4 THANK YOU
- #5 SILENCIO!
- #6 HOME, HOME, HOME
- #7 THE FIRST WONDERFUL THING
- #8 OH, JUAN MANUEL!
- #9 THE LIFE OF THE WIFE
- #10 NO, HE DID NOT
- #11 TRUJILLO, TRUJILLO!
- #12 THE LIFE OF THE WIFE REPRISE
- #13 PRUNE PIE (ASK A TAOSENA)
ACT TWO
- #14 IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPRINGTIME
- #15 CHOW CHOW
- #16 THE CHILDREN OF A SHEPHERD
- #17 TO THE MOVIES
- #18 POST OFFICE BOX 1663
- #19 THE PICKUP
- #20 POBRECITO
- #21 THE PHOTO
- #22 THE PRICE WE PAID
- #23 BETSY
- #24 THE GENTLE MAN
- #25 MY NAME (REPRISE)
SONG SAMPLES — these ‘demos’ are from the beautiful CD Carolyn put together. The full CD is available through Carolyn’s WEBSITE:
REHEARSAL MATERIALS AVAILABLE
- Script in PDF format — Order #2102a : $30.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- Vocal Book in PDF format — Order #2102b : $20.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)
- Piano-Vocal Score is not available for this title. Use the Vocal Book(above), PLUS the Performance-traks which will be included with the production royalties on this title.
- First Performance Ward/Stake/Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2102d : $70.00 (for the first or only performance, including the use of Performance-Traks)
- Second Performance Ward/Stake/Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #2102e : $60.00 (for each consecutive performance, including the use of Performance-Traks)
- Professional Performance License can be granted by filling out the Performance License Application. No production rights can be granted until this application is filled out and sent to us. This is a filler form that after you click “SUBMIT” will send directly to our email address. Response averages 2-3 business days.
NOTE ON SHEET MUSIC OF INDIVIDUAL SONGS: If you are looking for sheet music for a particular song from the show, we can make that available to you for a small fee. We have had a lot of demand for this and, while we love to make the big bucks, we would prefer to just meet you needs and get you the song you want at a more nominal price, which in the end is better for you and easier for us.
PRODUCTIONS
- Bluff Fort Visitor’s Center, Bluff, Utah — January 13, 2024
- East Valley High School, Mesa, Arizona — September 28, 2023
- Santa Fe Stake Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico — September 23,2023
- Los Lunas New Mexico Stake Center — September 22, 2923
- La Verkin Stake Center, La Verkin, Utah — September 15, 2023
- Santa Fe New Mexico Stake Center, Santa Fe, NM — September 22, 2023
- Utah Fine Arts Center, Hurricane, Utah — September 15, 2023
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United S0lo Festival — NYC, Theatre R0w, March 2023
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Trek Center at Martin’s Cove, Wyoming — August 26th, 2022
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Barn at the Sixth Crossing, Wyoming — August 27th, 2022
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San Juan Co-operative Co. Visitor Center, Bluff, Utah — August 30th, 2022
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Filmed onstage by Flower and Bone Productions at q-Staff Theatre in Albuquerque, 2021 (streamed online)
- Brigham’s Playhouse, St. George — October 2019
- Teatro Paraguas, Santa Fe, New Mexico — November 2019
- Taos Onstage, Taos, New Mexico — October-November 2019
- Premiere: Electric Theatre in St. George, Utah, October, 2018 (produced by Wilford Brimley)
BILLING CREDITS
The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:
Tales of Tila!
by
Carolyn Chatwin Murset
NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play. (In a press release all type, will of course, be the same size.)
ALSO:
THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
“Tales of Tila! is presented through special arrangement with Zion Theatricals. All authorized materials are also supplied by ZT, www.ziontheatricals.com”
This title is available exclusively from
