Hank Beebe
Music Library
Firebelle!
FIRE BELLE! is a big, lively musical about the heros of every hometown, the Fire Department.
Except that the Fire Department in FIRE BELLE! is going through its biggest crisis in its history; the introduction into its midst of its first female firefighter.
Irene didn't grow up wanting to be a firefighter. It was thrust upon her. First she was a victim of a fire, from which she recovered. Then she was widowed by a fire, from which she recovered by becoming a firefighter. To her, fire had become an inplacable enemy, one which attacks anyone, anywhere, anytime; one that shows no compassion, fives no quarter, respects no extenuating circumstances. It was a dragon she had to slay.
But to do this Irene has to enter the all-male world. She has to live where only men have lived, shower where only males have showered, converse where four-letter words form the basic vocabulary.
How she accomplishes her mission and still remains herself is the substance of FIRE BELLE!, which requires a cast of 18 or more actors, firefighter uniforms and equipment, but a minimal set.
And by admitting all real firefighters and EMT's free to performances you can show your appreciation for the local fire department in your community.