It's Raining Tamales

'It's Raining Tamales!' was commissioned by the Schenectady Theater for Children for their 2011 season. From spring to fall 2011, the show toured to elementary schools, libraries, and community centers in upstate NY. In 2012, 'It's Raining Tamales!' won Third Place in the Jackie White Memorial National Children's Play Writing Contest. Some quotes from K-5 audience members: 'I think it was the best play I ever saw.' 'I loved when Hector put honey in his hair.' 'I loved it. ... I liked when they cooked tamales.' 'I love the part when Hector went to school and said that the letter D is a wheelbarrow.' 'The robber was the best, and it was funny when Hector thought a tree stump was eating his head.' '... [I]t was funny and amazing. It was a show I'll never forget.' Cast: Eric Nelsen... Hector Heather D'Arcy... Inez Shawn Hahn... El Gato / Luis Amy Shake... Teresa the Miller / Schoolteacher Brendan Dwyer... Rafael, the Bad Bandito Sadie Buerker... Lola All... Ensemble, Mariachi Band, Imaginary Chefs Orchestrations by Doc Salvatore Synopsis: Hector and Inez have been poor all their lives, until the day Hector finds a bag of money hidden in the woods! Inez makes Hector promise to keep quiet about it: a bandito must have hidden that money, she says, and if he finds out they have it, he will come and demand the money back! But Inez knows Hector cannot zip his lip for long, so she must come up with a clever scheme to fool the bandito. A bandito armed with hot peppers and squishy tomatoes, a hard working miller and her daughter, and a narrator-cat with a penchant for drama round out the cast of this delightful musical comedy.