| It's the greatest awards show ever
seen on TV, for the greatest Americans of the 20th century! Statesmen, artists, athletes,
musicians, scientists, and many more are honored in a prime-time presentation (complete
with commercials). The Wright Brothers, Rosa Parks and M.L. King, Georgia O'Keefe, Louis
Armstrong, and Cesar Chavez all win awards. Back-stage interviews take us behind the
scenes as Teddy, FDR, and Eleanor duke it out for "favorite Roosevelt," and Babe
Didrikson and Babe Ruth compete for Best Athletic Babe. Where else can you see Henry Ford
rap? Students are introduced to many of the major figures in modern American history in a
fun and tuneful show. CHARACTERS:
FLEXIBLE
CASTING:
From 11-40 students.
Use as many Workers, Musicians, etc. as desired. There are a lot of characters in the
show, but many of them have just a few spoken lines. One student can easily play several
roles, although the following roles are so substantial that we recommend the actors
playing them do not take on any other parts: Angelica, Wally, Hemingway, Teddy and
Franklin Roosevelt. Note that all roles can be played by either boys or girls; see our
comments on page 38 of the Teacher's Guide . |
ANNOUNCER (offstage voice)
ANGELICA, the emcee
ALL-AMERICAN DANCERS
WALLY, the roving reporter
MARTHA GRAHAM
WILBUR WRIGHT
ORVILLE WRIGHT
ERNEST HEMINGWAY
RACHEL CARSON
WALT DISNEY
MARTIN LUTHER KING
ROSA PARK SINGERS
TEDDY ROOSEVELT and his ENTOURAGE
FDR and his ENTOURAGE
3 SPOKESPERSONS (for Stars in Your Pantry)
JACKSON POLLOCK
MUSICIANS
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
ANDY WARHOL
GEORGIA OKEEFFE
CESAR CHAVEZ
HENRY FORD and his WORKERS
2 GUYS in white coats
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
ALBERT EINSTEIN
THOMAS EDISON
BABE DIDRIKSON
BABE RUTH
and a CHORUS comprised of all students who are not playing roles on stage at the time
(Outside an auditoriumthis can be represented simply as the very left of the stage.
A woman, elegantly dressed, holds a microphone. People, also dressed up, walk by on a red
carpet towards the right side of the stage. Other people are standing behind ropes. Some
might shout out things like There she goes! and I just LOVE your cars,
Mr. Ford! After a few seconds of this, we hear from offstage:)
VOICE: Five seconds to air, Angelica.
(Angelica turns to the audience, primps her hair a bit and speaks.)
ANGELICA: Good evening! Thank you for tuning into our fabulous awards show. Tonight
we celebrate great Americans of the 20th century. And best of all, it features
me!
(As the music begins, several All-American Dancers could jump
across the stage in silly award show fashion. These dancers can
return during the brief musical interlude after the first chorus. ANGELICA
sings:)
Weve got scientists and heroes Song 1
Weve got entertainers too
And theres even politicians
There was nothing we could do.
We found athletes and artists
And a business man or two
And weve brought them all together
Just to celebrate with you.
ANGELICA and CHORUS:
The greatest
The greatest
The greatest Americans.
The greatest
The greatest
The greatest Americans
of the twentieth century.
DIFFERENT MEMBERS of CHORUS:
#1: There are lots of great musicians
#2: And theres folks in civil rights
#3: Weve got some who play with baseballs
#4: Some who play with lectric lights.
#5: Weve got labor movement leaders
#6: And a woman who paints flowers
ANGELICA:
And theres ME, your host all evening
Hope the show goes on for hours!
ANGELICA and CHORUS:
The greatest
The greatest
The greatest Americans
The greatest
The greatest
The greatest Americans
of the twentieth century.
ANGELICA: Its so exciting. Brilliant and talented people from all walks of
life are entering the auditorium. Lets go to our roving reporter, Wally Walters,
whos standing just outside the doors.
(We see WALLY now, who also holds a microphone on the other side of the
stage. An elegant woman walks by him.)
WALLY : Thank you, Angelica. Its fantastic to be part of such an evening.
Wait, here comes somebody. I think, yes, its, uh, somebody famous. Excuse me,
maam.
MARTHA GRAHAM: Yes?
WALLY: Who are you?
MARTHA GRAHAM: Im Martha Graham.
WALLY: THE Martha Graham? Fantastic.
(WALLY has no idea who she is.)
This is Martha Graham, ladies and gentleman, the famous
er
inventor of the
graham cracker. I just love graham crackers.
(TO GRAHAM)
Theres something were all dying to know.
GRAHAM: Yes?
WALLY: How do you get all those little perforations in the crackers?
ANGELICA (cutting in): Wally, you idiot!
(catching herself, turning to audience, trying to forget
what she just said) I mean, Wally, what a kidder! Everyone knows Martha Graham, the
great dancer and choreographer.
(GRAHAM exits)
WALLY (sees WRIGHT BROTHERS walking up carpet): Wait a minute! Here come a couple of
guys who must be brothers. Just look at them! Hey, are you two the Brothers Karamozov?
WILBUR: No. Theyre fictional characters out of Russian novel.
WALLY: Wait, dont tell me. The Luden Brothers? I knew it. Ladies and
gentlemen, these guys discovered cough drops.
ORVILLE: No, youve got the wrong brothers.
WALLY: Okay, I give up. Who are you?
WILBUR: Were the Wright brothers.
WALLY: Well of course youre the right brothers if youre not the wrong
brothers. But whats your name?
ORVILLE: Really, were the Wright Brothers.
WALLY (a bit frantic): Dont play games with me! Ive got an infected
hangnail and my shoes caught on fire this morning. Im not feeling well.
ORVILLE and WILBUR: But its true: we ARE the Wright Brothers!
BROTHERS:
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
Song 2
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
If you want to fly
Give the clouds a try
If you want to fly were the Wright Brothers.
ORVILLE:
I remember well that daring flight
I was cool as I flew out of sight
The things below looked just like ants to me.
WILBUR:
Well they WERE ants you saw below
You were only up ten feet or so
But that was news in nineteen hundred three.
BROTHERS:
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
If you want to fly
Give the clouds a try
If you want to fly were the Wright Brothers.
We Americans got off the ground
Hundred years and we are not back down
Yeah flying drew new maps and changed the clock.
You can fly to Rome, you fly in space
This whole worlds become a tiny place
It started way back there at Kitty Hawk.
BROTHERS and CHORUS:
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
We are the Wright, Wright Brothers
If you want to fly
Give the clouds a try
If you want to fly were the Wright Brothers.
If you want to fly
Give the clouds a try
If you want to fly were the Wright Brothers.
(THEY exit. ANGELICA enters the stage of the auditorium and stands at a
podium or a microphone stand.)
ANGELICA: Welcome, honored guests and nominees. Lets get straight to our first
award.
(ERNEST HEMINGWAY enters suddenly, much to the surprise of ANGELICA.)
HEMINGWAY: Thank you, thank you.
ANGELICA: Ernest Hemingway!
HEMINGWAY: Im honored, of course. Wheres that award?
ANGELICA: Mr. Hemingway, Im sorry, but this is not your category.
HEMINGWAY: It isnt? Are you sure?
ANGELICA: Youre not supposed to be out here.
HEMINGWAY: Well, since Im already here, we could talk about me for a few
minutes.
ANGELICA: Not now.
HEMINGWAY: What if we just mention a few of my novels? It wont take long.
ANGELICA: No. Im sorry.
HEMINGWAY: I could mime the titles.
ANGELICA: Ernest, please.
HEMINGWAY (exiting): Farewell, then. Farewell
To
Arms! (laughing because he snuck in the title of one of his novels)
Ha ha ha ha! (exits)
ANGELICA (collecting herself, speaks to audience). Im sorry about that. Now, back to
the awards. To present our Humanitarian award, I am proud to introduce two great Americans
in their own right, Rachel Carson and Walt Disney.
(THEY enter, CARSON holds an envelope)
DISNEY: Rachel, its an honor to be here with you. Your book, Silent Spring,
about pesticide poisoning, pretty much started the whole environmental movement.
CARSON: Thank you, Walt. And who would have thought that at the same time I was fighting
with chemical companies, trying to make the United States a safer place, you would be
changing the world with an animated rodent?
DISNEY: Lifes a mystery, eh, Rachel? But enough about us. Weve got an
important award to hand out. There were so many inspiring humanitarian leaders in
twentieth-century America. Our panel of judges had a very difficult time selecting just
one winner. But they did, and lets find out who it is.
CARSON (opens envelope, reads): For his work in civil rights, for leading the
non-violent march towards equality for black Americans in the most difficult of times, the
winner is Dr. Martin Luther King.
KING (entering with ROSA PARK SINGERS. HE speaks at podium): I am honored, but I
cant accept this award alone. I want to acknowledge the bravery of one woman.
On December fifth, 1955, Rosa Parks was riding on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was
sitting in the fifth row of the busin what was called the colored
section. Blacks were not allowed in the front, and we were required by law to give
up our seats to any white person who wanted it. But on that day Rosa did not give up her
seat. Rosa did not move to the back of the bus. Rosa did not accept second-class
citizenship. By that one simple and brave gesture, the civil rights movement was
galvanized. Thank you, Rosa Parks.
ROSA PARK SINGERS:
Rosa Parks
Song 3
You stay in your seat
Rosa Parks
Not just tired feet
You know, you know
Theres gonna be a fuss
But youre not movin to the back of the bus.
No, youre not movin to the back of the bus.
Rosa Parks
Youre under arrest
Rosa Parks
Now here comes the test
Is it legal or just ludicrous?
To make you move on to the back of the bus?
To make you move on to the back of the bus.
M.L. KING (spoken as music continues): So we organized a bus boycott. It lasted 382 days.
Rosa refused to pay the fine, and her case made it all the way to the Supreme Court. In
December of 1956, the Supreme Court declared that the segregation in the south was
unconstitutional. And through it all Rosa never wavered.
ROSA PARK SINGERS, KING, CHORUS:
Rosa Parks
Equality stalled
Rosa Parks
And you took the call.
An example still to all of us
By not movin to the back of the bus.
By not movin to the back of the bus.
(THEY exit. ANGELICA steps up to microphone.)
ANGELICA: To present out next award for outstanding American statesman of the
twentieth century, please welcome the famous aviator and adventurer, Amelia Earhart.
(SHE looks offstageno one comes. After a
pause:)
ANGELICA: Apparently Amelia is missing. Well, Im sure shell show up
soonshe cant be lost forever. I guess well just move on
HEMINGWAY (shouting from offstage): Bring back Hemingway!
ANGELICA (speaking in his direction): Ernest, be quiet!
(to audience)
I guess Ill do the honors.
(Picks up envelope)
And the winner of greatest statesman is
Roosevelt.
(FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT enters, with
ENTOURAGE behind)
ANGELICA: Congratulations, President Roosevelt.
(TEDDY ROOSEVELT comes racing in, his ENTOURAGE
behind)
TEDDY: Now hold on a minute there. Youve got the wrong Roosevelt. That there
is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR is a fine man, no doubt, but Im sure that award
was meant for me, Teddy Roosevelt.
FDR: Oh, Teddy, you were a good president, all right. Panama canal. American
internationalism. Nobel Peace Prize and all that. But that was way back in the first
decade of the century. And you werent elected president four times.
FDRs ENTOURAGE (like cheerleaders chanting):
FDR
Im his fan
Four elections
Hes the man!
TEDDY: Franklin, That New Deal of yoursthe government programs to get us out
of the Great Depression in the 1930sit didnt exactly work, did it?
FDR: It gave millions of Americans a job and enough money to survive. I gave them
hope.
TEDDY: And I gave them a new political partythe Bull Moose Party!
ENTOURAGE (swinging hands over head): Moose, Moose, Moose, Moose!
TEDDY: No, sirree, you cant beat a moose.
FDR: I led our country through World War II.
TEDDY: Im talking a MOOSE, Franklin. A BIG moose.
FDR: I have a Presidential Memorial in Washington D.C.!
TEDDY: My face is on a mountain in South Dakota!
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE: Rushmore, Rushmore, Rushmore!
In nineteen hundred one
Song 4
This countrys time had come
And Teddy knew just how the people felt
TEDDY:
Speak softly, thats the trick
And carry one big stick.
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE:
We love this guy
Our favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt.
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
In 1932
The country was so blue
The depression had us tight around the belt.
FDR:
Your government is here
Youve nothing now to fear.
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
He gave us hope
Our favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt.
BOTH GROUPS:
Lets all cheer
Now youre here
We are gonna stand tall
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Teddy
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Franklin
BOTH GROUPS:
Hes our favrite favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt of all.
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
When hope was wearing thin
Our FDR stepped in
And he made sure his grand New Deal got dealt
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE:
Our Teddys strong and tough
Goes swimming in the buff
TEDDY:
Australian crawl
BOTH GROUPS:
Our favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt.
BOTH GROUPS and CHORUS:
Lets all cheer
Now youre here
We are gonna stand tall
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Teddy
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Franklin
BOTH GROUPS and CHORUS:
Hes our favrite favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt of all.
TEDDYS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Teddy
FDRS ENTOURAGE:
Yeah its Franklin
BOTH GROUPS and CHORUS:
Hes our favrite favrite favrite favrite Roosevelt of all.
(THEY ALL exit, still arguing. ANGELICA steps up to microphone.)
Song List
Click on the song name to
hear samples in mp3 format. Please note that internet song samples have low fidelity and
rest assured that the CDs we sell sound much better. Problems hearing the music? Visit our
Audio Help page
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| Vocabulary
Terms for Great Americans |
fabulous
roving
perforations
choreographer
hangnail
daring
nominees
humanitarian
pesticide
environmental
rodent
equality
galvanized
fuss
ludicrous
organized
unconstitutional
wavered
statesman
aviator
sponsors
impersonators
canvas
masterpiece
improvise
revolutionary
fifteen minutes of fame
stout
lily
poppies
produce
democratized
unique
zig zag
barbarian
mate
viable
incandescent
decathlon
pentathlon
gents
billiards
cinch
|
Historical Terms
civil
rights
labor movement
Brothers Karamazov
Kitty Hawk
non-violent
colored section
second-class citizenship
bus boycott
segregation
Panama Canal
Nobel Peace Prize
Great Depression
Bull Moose Party
World War II
Mt. Rushmore
Speak softly and carry a big stick.
New Deal
Casablanca
United Farm Workers
Presidential Medal of Freedom
profit sharing
Model T
mass production
assembly lines
dealer franchise system
the special theory of relativity
the general theory of relativity
quantum theory
phonograph
Iwo Jima
Normandy
Korean War
Vietnam
War
|
Books by Hemingway:
Farewell To Arms
The Old Man And The Sea
The Sun Also Rises
A Moveable Feast
People
Not Mentioned In Cast List
Amelia
Earhart
Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers
Charlie Chaplin
Lucille Ball
Bob Hope
Frank Sinatra
Elvis Presley
John Wayne
Ingrid Bergman
Neil Armstrong
Jesse Owens
Jim Thorpe
Vocabulary
From Stage Directions
auditorium
represented
elegantly
primps
podium
entourage
struts |
Top of Page
Teacher Reviews:
To submit your own review, just e-mail it to ron@badwolfpress.com
Be sure to include your school name and what grade you teach.
"This was my first year of doing a
musical play. 'Great Americans' was perfect because it fit so wonderfully well into the
unit that I do after Christmas vacation. My students learned so much, even about Americans
who aren't so well-known by sixth graders. Kids are still mentioning the names of people
from the show as they hear or head about them. And the parents loved
it!"
---Lisa Atchison, Teacher (6th grade), Bertrand Community School, Bertrand, NE
"It's hilarious and the music is
TERRIFIC. The melodies are beautiful and for the most part, very easy for the kids to
sing. Thank you so much! You're my first place too look for creative, engaging, funny
musicals!"
---Blake Leister, Teacher (music, 1-5), Dawson Elementary, Holden, MA
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Two of You are Planning to
Put the Play on Together??
If you ask us, we always suggest having just one class put on a play. We
think each kid is more involved, and we think it's easier for you to deal with a smaller
number of students.
But lots of teachers disagree with us.
They've been happily doing the plays together for years.
In fact, Amy Anderson, the teacher who does four musicals a year (and she talks about this on our home page) thinks two classes
together is the way to go.
Then what do I need to purchase?
Think of a musical play like a library book. Only one teacher may "check out"
(i.e. put on) the play at a time. If another teacher wants to produce the music play that
you purchased in a separate production and at a later date, you may loan
out your original plan and student copies.
Your "library" needs two copies of the play for two teachers to
put on the play at the same time. If a teacher wants her class to put on the play with
your class, she needs to buy her own copy of the play. For three or more teachers
to produce a play together, purchase three copies for your "library" and Bad
Wolf extends a Site License for all the teachers and
classes at your school.
But why can't I just make extra copies of
the play? If copies are made for a class other than the purchasing
teacher's, it's an infringement of U.S. copyright law. Yikes! Bad Wolf
likes to toe the line where Uncle Sam is concerned, so we offer a discount on the purchase
of multiple copies of the play.
If you are 2 teachers putting on the play
together...................................$60
* Includes 2 copies of the book and CD (save almost $20 off of
buying
them separately) so each of you has a CD and
book to work with.
* Free bonus: We'll throw in our famed
"Earthworms on Parade" CD. Y'know,
that's the one with the six
goofiest songs about earthworms ever written
($9.95 value.)
* Includes the right to reproduce the
script for the students in both of
your individual classes.
Questions? Call or email Ron Fink at (888) 827-8661 or ron@badwolfpress.com
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