As the play opens, Heidi is taken to live with her forbidding hermit grandfather in the Alps. They form a close bond, and Heidi is happy until she is kidnapped by her aunt and taken to Frankfurt, where she becomes the companion of Klara, an invalid girl. In her homesickness Heidi learns to trust in God, and eventually is reunited with her grandfather, who through her influence also puts his faith in God and makes peace with the villagers. Klara’s healing in the Alps is part of the joyful ending of the story.

Spyri writes with humor, pathos and spiritual inspiration; thus in the play there are comic, light-hearted songs as well as wistful, sad, majestic, dramatic and jubilant ones. To evoke the Swiss setting, I’ve arranged three 19th-century Swiss songs, two of which are sung by children. The singing style of the children is more like that of a children’s choir than of a show like Annie. The choral piece “Wilkommen” is written in this traditional Swiss style, but the rest of the music is in my own style. An overture begins the play, leading into a village scene set to music. The villagers reappear toward the end of the play as singers and dancers.

Eighteen Songs