Picture Book ‘Chachaji's Cup' Hits the Stage

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By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 01/11/2010

Uma Krishnaswami’s award-winning Chachaji’s Cup (Children’s Book Press, 2003) is hitting the stage, complete with traditional Indian choreography, Bollywood-style dance, and musical instruments ranging from the keyboard to the sitar and tabla.

Raja Burrows as Neel.

Making Books Sing, a New York-based company that turns books for young readers into musicals for the stage, will premiere “Tea With Chachaji” in New York and California later this month and in early February, with performances at Manhattan’s Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn’s Goldstein Theatre at Kingsborough Community College, Lehman College’s Lovinger Theatre in the Bronx, and Stanford Lively Arts in Stanford, CA.

In both the book and musical, Indian-born Chachaji sips chai as he entertains his great nephew Neel with captivating Hindu stories and exciting Bollywood movies. The greatest story of all, and the most difficult to share, deals with Chachaji’s teacup, a precious heirloom that belonged to his mother as she migrated with young Chachaji from Pakistan to India after they were divided in 1947. As Neel grows older, so does the distance between his American life and Indian roots. One day, in one careless moment, the teen accidentally shatters the teacup and his uncle’s heart. As he repairs the broken pieces of both, Neel comes to understand the true value of family heritage.

Expect to see some changes to the story, however. The musical is set in Jackson Heights, Queens, a New York neighborhood where many South Asians live. Also, Neel’s best friend Daniel is Latino, rather than Caucasian, which better reflects the mixed ethnicity of that neighborhood.

Making Books Sing chose to adapt Chachaji’s Cup—winner of the 2004 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, a 2004 Skipping Stones Honor Award, and one of the Best Books of 2003 by Bank Street College—because it delivers a historical and social message and has a strong young main character, says Barbara Zinn Krieger, the organization’s artistic director and founder.

Raja Burrows as Neel (left) and Tony Mirrcandani as Chachaji.
Photos: Carol Rosegg

“The Hindu mythology and Bollywood scenes plus a good dose of comedy will definitely appeal to kids,” she adds. “I hope they'll take away from the story an appreciation of the value of diversity. Neel, the central character, is caught between his uncle Chachaji's old world Indian traditions and Neel's wish to fit in as an American kid.”

And even though it deals with the partition of India and Pakistan, it addresses a universal subject that will resonate with many children. “There are so many conflicts in our world today similar to the one depicted here; we expect the teachers to use this story as a teaching opportunity,” says Krieger.

With the lyrics by Gwynne Watkins and music by Denver Casado, the musical is directed and choreographed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj and stars Raja Burrows, Tony Mirrcandani (The Merchants of Bollywood), Stephanie Klemons (In the Heights), Jose Sepulveda, and Soneela Nankani.

Over the last few years, Making Books Sing has successfully adapted the following from book to stage: modern dance’s José Limón’s unfinished memoir, José Limón: The Making of an Artist, Patricia Polacco’s The Butterfly, and Monica Gunning’s A Shelter in Our Car, about an unexpected financial hardship that leaves a Jamaican mother and daughter homeless but strengthens their love.

For tickets and lesson plans, call 212-573-8791 or check online at www.makingbookssing.org. For those New Yorkers attending the show, Krishnaswami will be signing at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca at 97 Warren Street on January 22 to promote the performances.