TO BE AN EAGLE!
The play opens in an African village, where Great Mama Eagle is torn from her husband, Great Papa Eagle, and captured by poachers. Mama dies while in captivity but not before giving birth to five eagle eggs and leaving them her "talking" tama drum. The poachers pawn off these eggs to a chicken farm as "rare Congolese chickens," where the eggs soon hatched are dubbed "baby chicks," despite their surprising appearance and obvious gawkiness. One day Great Papa Eagle, who has been searching the continent for his lost family, appears in the chicken yard, and is captured as a "rare Congolese chicken"--in spite of the fact that he insists he is an eagle who knows how to fly. When Great Papa Eagle discovers one of the baby eagles playing his wife's tama drum, however, he realizes that these so-called chicks must be his children. He teaches them not only how to play the drum like eagles but also how to lift up, fly and soar. Seeing the six birds in the air, the chickens realize at last that they have made a mistake. They're awed by the eagles, but admit that being a chicken has its advantages, too--as long as you're a chicken! Realizing that being true to their own nature is key to fulfilling their own destiny, the eagles and chickens celebrate together in dance.
