Jacked! A Beanstalk Remix

Jacked! A Beanstalk Remix at Coterie Theatre

Jack thinks he's found the answer when he climbs that beanstalk and returns with a goose that lays golden eggs. His farm can't feed him or his community, and his mother has run out of ways to help. But those gleaming eggs carry something darker than wealth—an intoxicating power that doesn't solve the village's hunger so much as replace one desperate craving with another.

Jacked! A Beanstalk Remix uses the fairy tale you already know to tell a story about the opioid epidemic. Playwright Idris Goodwin weaves hip-hop, poetry and breakbeats into the familiar giant-and-goose adventure, turning a children's story into something that speaks directly to a problem tearing through real communities. The treasure Jack steals becomes a threat, and the choice to bring it home carries consequences that ripple outward.

This isn't light entertainment dressed up with a contemporary soundtrack. The work addresses substance abuse through imaginative storytelling, letting the magical frame carry the weight of a serious subject without losing the urgency or the stakes. The Coterie presents this sixty-minute production for ages ten and older, trusting young audiences to handle difficult questions wrapped in a story they think they already understand.

Fairy tales have always been warnings as much as adventures. Secure your seats in Kansas City for a remix that makes the old story new and necessary.