Jacked! at Metro Theater Company

Hip hop and break-beat music. Hand-drawn animation. Spoken word poetry. It's "Jack and the Beanstalk" with a modern-day twist! Created for children ages 5-11, "Jacked!" opens a gentle dialogue for young audiences about substance abuse and its effects on families and communities. Written by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin and inspired by the fairytale "Jack and the Beanstalk," Metro Theater Company reworked what was initially planned as an in-person touring production into an imaginative, fully virtual experience that combines hand-drawn animation, spoken word poetry, and behind-the-scenes studio footage. "Jacked!" is set to a fresh, energetic hip-hop score by Jackie Jackpot Sharp, featuring vocals and rap by the popular St. Louis punk pop duo, The Knuckles. Actor Jarris L. Williams takes on the role of Jack.In this reimagined world, Jack and his mother struggle to live happily ever after. When his farm, which was once green and fertile, can no longer feed him; when his community can no longer support him; and when his mother can't take care of him, Jack takes matters into his own hands. After climbing the beanstalk and stealing the giant's goose, Jack flees home and discovers the goose's golden eggs have a mysterious, intoxicating power that turns his world upside down. How can something so good make everything bad? Can Jack turn things around to save his village? "Jacked!" fuses storytelling and poetry with hip hop and break-beat music in a multi-sensory virtual production designed to engage the audience on multiple levels, coming as close as possible to the active engagement of a live performance."Jacked!" is a 40-minute virtual streaming production.
Ages: Ages 5-11 and up