Jack and the Beanstalk Rap

Fairy tales meet hip hop in this delightful version of Jack and the Beanstalk. Students can play characters or rappers, and make up their own dance moves to go along with the raps! This play has a lot of flexibility in terms of cast size because you can add as many characters as you like. We have three other short fairy tale rap plays, so some students can play characters in one play, and rappers in other ones, allowing everyone a chance to have a colorful, meaningful part!

Please read our copyright guidelines before downloading this script.

Check out these other fantastic plays by Val Neubecker:
Santa’s Little Reindeer Rap
Santa’s Little Reindeer, The Musical
Cinderella Rap
Snow White Rap
Little Red Riding Hood Rap
Three Little Pigs Rap
Robin Hood Rap
Space Travel Rap
Ghostly Rap
Little Miss Muffet

About the Playwright:

Val Neubecker lives in Perth, Australia. She wrote scripts for a theatre restaurant for 18 years and has had three children’s books published. Her poems, short stories and plays have been published in The School Magazine, also NZ School Journal. She has published five e-books: The Rock, The School Photograph, What a Performance, An Alphabet of Australian Animals, and Santa’s Little Reindeer. ‘Ho! Ho! Ho! & Other Christmas Songs’, features Val’s work as a composer and lyricist. It also includes activities and worksheets to accompany the songs. Val is the Secretary and Poetry Coordinator for Creative Connections, an organization where poets write poems to works of art created by artists with disabilities.

Excerpt from the play:

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR 1
NARRATOR 2
JACK
MUM
COW
MAN
OGRE
OGRE’S WIFE
HEN
RAPPERS (All other students in the class)

SETTING 1: Outside their house. JACK and his MUM looking at the COW.

NARRATOR 1:
Once upon a time, there was a boy called Jack. He lived with his mother and they were very poor indeed.

RAPPERS:
Oh, /woe, oh /woe, oh /mise/ry,
For /they were /poor as /poor could /be,
But /worse than /that was /yet to /fall,
Their /cow would /give no /milk at /all.

MUM:
Oh no! This cow is not giving any milk. She’s not worth a bean now. I’m afraid we can’t afford to keep her.

COW:
(aside) It’s not my fault. They can’t afford to water the ground so there’s no grass to eat.

MUM:
We’ll have to sell her. Jack, take her to the market and make sure you get a good price. Haggle if you must.

JACK:
No worries. I’ll haggle.

(MUM exits.)

NARRATOR 2:
So, Jack took the cow along to the marketplace.

RAPPERS:
And /on the /way, Jack /met a /man
A /sneaky /one who’d /hatched a /plan,
He /practiced /magic, /so they /say,
And /aimed to /get the /cow that /day.

(MAN enters.)

MAN:
That’s a fine-looking cow.

JACK:
Yes, but she’s not giving any milk so she’s not worth a bean.

COW:
(aside) Oh, yes, I am.

MAN:
(aside) Oh no, you’re not. (to Jack)Tell you what, I’ll give you two beans for her.

JACK:
Two beans! That’s not enough.

MAN:
You said she wasn’t worth a bean.

JACK:
Well, that’s what Mum said, but I reckon she’s worth, um, seven beans.

COW:
(aside) That’s too cheap!

MAN:
(aside) Quiet. (to Jack) I’ll give you three.

JACK:
Six.

MAN:
Four.

JACK:
Five.

MAN:
OK, five beans.

COW:
(aside) I guess that’s OK.

JACK:
But I’m not sure that Mum will be happy with BEANS for the cow.

MAN:
Ah-hah, but these are MAGIC beans. Your mum will be over the moon. Come on, Cow.

(MAN & COW exit.)

NARRATOR 1:
So, Jack went home to his mum.

(MUM enters.)

RAPPERS:
When /Jack got /home he /said to his /mum,
I’ve /haggled /well, so /don’t look /glum,
But /when he /showed her /what he’d /got,
/Over the /moon, /she was /NOT!

MUM:
Five beans! FIVE BEANS!

JACK:
But they’re magic beans.

MUM:
Magic beans? I’ll give you magic beans. Just watch them disappear. (tosses beans away) Now, there’s no money, so there’s no dinner!

(MUM exits.)

NARRATOR 2:
So, Jack went to bed without any dinner and he was so hungry. In the morning, his room was very dark. Much darker than usual. He got up and looked out the window.

RAPPERS:
His /mum had /thrown those /beans out/side
And /now a /beanstalk, /long and /wide,
Grew /from the /ground to /way up /high,
In /fact, it /reached up /to the /sky.