Eugene Jackson has a special talent for turning favorite children's stories into intriguing plays that hold little folk spellbound, such as Babes in Toyland, Pinocchio, The Princess and the Goblin, The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows, and The Wizard of Oz. His unique style produces three-dimensional characters with whom children can identify. In this dramatization of the Rumpelstiltskin story, the miller's daughter (who is nameless in the Grimms fairy tale) is a pretty girl named Missy who is often embarrassed by her father's constant bragging about talents which she doesn't have. Her sister, Sissy, is plain but intelligent and capable—but no one, not even her parents, pays much attention to her. Rumpelstiltskin, although he has magical powers, is basically a lonely little man longing for someone to love him.

The story follows the Grimms fairy tale very closely. Missy's father brags that she is so talented that she can even spin straw into gold. So the king asks her to spin him some gold...and if she can't, the villainous Captain of the Guard threatens to invoke an old law which says that anyone who lies to the king must be put to death. When she is frantic with grief, a funny little man appears and spins the straw into gold for her...in exchange for her promise to give him her first-born child. The king is so impressed with Missy's talent (as well as her loveliness) that he marries her. When their first child is born, the funny little man comes to claim his part of the bargain. Missy begs him to let her keep her baby, and he makes one more proposition—if she can discover his name within three days, she may keep the little child. The scene in which Missy and her family discover that his name is Rumpelstiltskin is one of the funniest your stage will ever have the delight of displaying.

The cast may number as few as 12, or as many as the stage can hold. The play can be staged with one basic set—the throne room of the King's castle. Scenes that do not take place in the throne room may be played on the apron in front of the curtain, in the aisles of the auditorium, or in a part of the stage separate from the throne room. In other words, Eugene Jackson has arranged this play so that it may be staged elaborately or simply. Either way, it is sure to be a highlight of the season. Two acts; Set, throne room; Time, long ago.

"We had six very well-received performances...had a lot of fun doing the show [Rumpelstiltskin] and our audiences loved it—children and adults.."—Mrs. John Gore, The Sumter Players, Americus, Ga.
"We liked the way the show flowed smoothly from scene to scene, thanks to the 'one scene on the stage, next scene on the apron' arrangement...The adults in attendance were unanimous in praising Rumpel as the best children's play we have ever done. And if the avalanche of letters and drawings my cast received were any indication, the children were in whole-hearted agreement!"—Richard J. Morse, Luke M. Powers High School, Flint, Mich.
"Greensburg Civic Theatre recently produced Rumpelstiltskin Is My Name. The play was such a success that we have decided to make children's plays a regular part of our season."— Karen P. Mages, Greensburg, Pa.

See also: Adaptations of the Classics