Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary MusicalScript, Piano/Vocal Score & show details

Full synopsis

A single screen appears on a black stage. Projected on the screen are familiar New York and Brooklyn landmarks. We end up at Trixie's house. Mom and Dad stand on the stoop, and Mom warns an overconfident Dad how tricky it is to do laundry with Trixie ("Tricky with Trixie"). Nevertheless, Dad and Trixie head off to the Laundromat, Knuffle Bunny in hand.

On the walk to the Laundromat, Trixie continually zooms off, leaving Dad in her dust ("Walkin' Dad"). Dad notices her playing with a pigeon but does not realize that she's having fun; he thinks that pigeons are dirty. He tries to distract her by pointing out a fire truck, but, when the siren goes off, she is terrified. Dad consoles her. He tries to get her to say, "Daddy," but it doesn't work. They head off again ("Walkin' Dad – II").

They arrive at the Laundromat, where Trixie is entranced by the wonder of the machines. Puppeteers join in the washing as Dad tells Trixie all about getting clothes clean ("Wishy Washy"). While they're having a good time with the laundry, Dad accidentally puts Knuffle Bunny in the washer. Dad and Trixie leave the Laundromat to go tell Mom what a good job they did. Trixie realizes that Knuffle Bunny isn't there. She protests to Dad and refuses to go home. When she goes "boneless" and really won't move, Dad tries to figure out what's wrong. Trixie floats into a dream, where she dances with a giant puppet version of Knuffle Bunny ("Aggle Flaggle Klabble"). During the dance, her beloved Knuffle Bunny is taken from her. She comes back to reality, and Dad urges her onward toward home.


Dad and Trixie make their way home through a series of tableaus. We see a less-triumphant Dad pulling an increasingly frustrated Trixie along several Brooklyn streets... then, we see the Pyramids... then, another street, a park – lots of time has passed. Dad finally snaps at Trixie and immediately feels bad. He doesn't know what's wrong but he promises that he's doing his best ("Really, Really I Love You"). Finally, they make it home, and Mom knows right away. She asks Dad where Knuffle Bunny is. He realizes that he doesn't know. They all rush back to the Laundromat.

The family is at the Laundromat. Dad searches valiantly for Knuffle Bunny in each of the three washers but, alas, he cannot find it. Trixie begins to go sadly back to her dream world, but Dad cuts her off and renews the search ("Aggle Flaggle Klabble"). Mom tells Trixie that, even though things sometimes go badly with Daddy, he always comes out in the end ("Don't Worry"). During this sequence, Dad battles bravely with various clothes-puppets and the three washers. In a huge sequence, Dad defeats the menacing snake tie and other clothes-puppets to rescue Knuffle Bunny. Dad emerges victorious, and Trixie speaks her first words: "Knuffle Bunny!" The family is thrilled. As they celebrate, Trixie's vocabulary grows ("Knuffle Bunny"). The family reunites on the stoop; they all agree that this is the last time that Dad will do the laundry. As they go inside, a pigeon swoops down and steals Knuffle Bunny off of the stoop. Offstage, we hear Trixie call after her Knuffle Bunny.