The Chicken Made of Rags

The Chicken Made of Rags book makes available to the public my family’s favorite children’s story and musical for generations. The publication of the script in book form now makes it available for schools and theater companies to create new productions for the public to enjoy more widely. As playwright Nina Serrano says in her introduction to the book:

The Chicken Made of Rags is an old family tale, handed down through generations. As children in New York City in the 1930s and ‘40s, my younger brother, Philip Serrano, and I went to sleep listening to our Uncle Paul’s tale of the raggedy Chicken on her way to the big fiesta. Our Uncle Paul heard the story as a child in Cuba at the turn of the twentieth century from his nanny, a former slave.

Cuba had abolished slavery in 1886, ten years before Uncle Paul was born. Following the story’s Afro-Caribbean origins, each generation of my family changed elements of the story, adding other cultural layers. The Chicken Made of Rags immigrated across continents and generations, landing in the script that we present here.
In addition to the introduction, and the script itself, the book includes cast list, prop lists, song lyrics and sheet music by Philip Serrano, as well as photos from past productions showing different sets and costumes. The musical version of the play, created by Greg Landau, is available as a CD and as downloads. A digital eBook is also available for easy download by actors and others.