Listen to Jacked!
May 26, 2023 is National Road Trip Day! On your next trip, listen to Jacked!
In 2021, Metro Theater Company produced an animated production of Jacked! by Idris Goodwin as well as a stellar cast album. Listen to the music on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Pandora, TikTok/Resso, and other digital music stores and streaming services.
The 17-track album was created by music producer, sound designer, and percussionist Jackie “Jackpot” Sharp and recorded at Doorway Studios. It features a wide range of hip hop and break beat music, including vocals and rap by the popular St. Louis punk pop duo, The Knuckles, and the vocals of actor Jarris L. Williams in the role of Jack.
Jacked! is written by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And In This Corner: Cassius Clay) and inspired by the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk. Developed for children ages 5-11, Jacked! is an allegory that uses the familiar story of Jack and the Beanstalk as a launching point to explore the impact of substance abuse for young people, encouraging a gentle dialogue about its effects on our communities. The production was initially scheduled as an in-person touring production, but due to the pandemic Metro Theater Company reworked it into an imaginative, fully virtual 40-minute experience that combines hand-drawn animation, spoken word poetry, and Sharp’s fresh, creative hip-hop score.
“When the pandemic shut down the possibility of performing the play Jacked! live on tour, director Jamie McKittrick and I brainstormed about how to best to produce the story for MTC’s audiences,” said MTC Artistic Director Julia Flood. “A collaboration between St. Louis artists in many disciplines resulted in a unique style of animated performance. At the heart of this is the layering of sound that includes Idris Goodwin’s language, Jackie Sharp’s music, and the terrific performances of Jarris Williams and The Knuckles (Aloha Mischeaux and Rocky Knuckles). We are excited that our audiences can not only watch the animated play, but can continue to enjoy, and dance along, to the story with this album.”
Cast
Jack – Jarris Williams
Ensemble – The Knuckles
Production Team
Director – Jamie McKittrick
Soundtrack and musical direction by Jackie “Jackpot” Sharp
Visual Artist – Nicholas Kryah
Costume Designer – Dorathy L. Johnston
Animation Designer/Video editor – Michael Thanh Tran
Sound Engineer — Ben Arnold
Stage Manager – Jimmy Bernatowicz
Listen to album excerpts below!
Scenes from Jacked! (no longer available for streaming)