Gold Dust or Bust

This 30 minute musical play can be done as a complete play, skits, read-aloud, or you can just sing songs. The pivotal events of the Gold Rush are brought to life in a fun and enjoyable way. No music or drama experience needed. Grades 2-6.

Our musical review presents the highlights of the great stampede of forty-niners to the California goldfields. From Sutter's Mill to Mad Mule Gulch, Sacramento to Fiddletown, the land's gone nuts with Gold Fever. Guiding us on our tour is the remarkable Luzena Wilson---wife, professional cook, innkeeper, commodities gambler, banker, and founder of a city. So whether you set your wagon on the Overland Trail, sail across Cape Horn, or wade across the swamps of Panama, get yourself to the Mother Lode, where tents turn into jeans, a dozen eggs cost ten dollars, and the mud's so deep the cows disappear.

Gold Dust or Bust is designed to fit directly into your U.S. and California history curriculum.

"Gold Dust or Bust cemented the gold rush for my class - it's forever with them now! Next school year I'm moving to a 5/6 grade class and can't wait to do another Bad Wolf Press musical. In fact, I've already had several teachers and parents asking me where I got this play. It was fabulous - the kids were superb, the music was wonderful and the parents loved it. Many, many thanks for a great and easy production. Keep writing and composing!"

---Wendy Buchanan, Teacher, (3rd-4th grade), Vinewood School, Lodi, CA

"We loved the music---catchy tunes and lyrics with a cute, funny narrative. Students learned their history via the songs. Very enjoyable! The show brings the curriculum alive, encouraging cooperation as well as other life skills. It gives the students a real sense of pride."

---Sheree Stenberg, Teacher (4th grade), Waldo Rohnert School, Rohnert Park, CA

"The recorded music is outstanding---the students loved it. The plays are great for critical thinking. They build confidence, reading and language skills, and develop a community of learners working together. I want to order all the plays!"

---Paige Powell, Bathgate Elementary, Mission Viejo, CA

"The kids love it. There is a lot of content embedded in the songs. I wasn't going to do it this year, but one of my colleagues really wanted his kids to see it so he convinced me to do it."

---Vivian Chen, Teacher (4th grade) Multnomah Elementary, Los Angeles, CA

"My students learned state standards while singing, dancing, and having a marvelous time. The musical allows students to have a positive experience while learning facts, as well as making lasting memories with friends."

---Michelle Skidmore, Teacher (4th/5th grades) Ladera Ranch Elementary, Ladera Ranch, CA

"Fun humor and super songs. This is a terrific first play (easy to stage)." --Kathy Wilbur, Teacher (4th grade), Prairie Elementary, Sacramento, CA

"After the play we studied textbooks of the Gold Rush and were able to make connections to characters from the play versus characters of the 49'ers Day. It brought a deeper understanding of the hardships."

---Christina Carmelich, Teacher (4th grade), Cloverland Elementary, Oakdale, CA

"The play is filled with fun that's accessible." --Nancy Rogers, Teacher (4th grade), Jordan Elementary, Whittier, CA

"Awesome play! My fourth graders loved doing this play and they learned so much more than they could from any social studies text. I even convinced the other two fourth grade teachers to do the play in their classrooms, too. Thank you!" --Colleen Myers, Teacher (4th grade), Las Flores Elementary, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Casting

Flexible casting from 11-40 students.
Use as many Overlanders, Argonauts, Merchants, etc. as desired; one student
can also play more than one role. Note that roles are not gender-specific: Sam
can easily be played by a girl, for example; see our comments on page 30 of
the Teacher's Guide .

Script

This is the first one-third of the script:

CHARACTERS:
Luzena Wilson
Becky
John Sutter
James Marshall
Gold Fever Singers
Overlanders
Sam
Argonauts
Pan Miners
Carnival Barker
Johnny the Announcer
Children
Merchants
City Miners
and a Chorus made up of all students who are not playing roles at the time.

(The CLASS enters from either side, or is already on stage in two groups. During several
short instrumental breaks in the song, the STUDENTS put together a giant map of California
on the back wall of the stage. The map has San Francisco and Sacramento labeled, as well
as the Gold Rush country outlined.)

Song 1

HALF OF CLASS (sings)
Sleepy northern California
In 1848
We've got ranchos and steers
Just a few pioneers
And tons of real estate.

OTHER HALF OF CLASS:
Sleepy northern California
In 1848
There's no smog in the air
We've got grizzly bears
And we're not yet a state.

ENTIRE CLASS:
But grab your picks and shovels, friends
It's all gonna change real soon
Gold dust or bust
Gold dust or bust
Start singing a different tune.

Abandoned ships will fill the bay
They'll bob and float around
You can't keep the crews
When they hear the news that gold's been found.

Eggs will cost three dollars each
You'll live in just a shack
It's too much for some
But most who will come aren't going back.
So grab your picks and shovels, friends
It's all gonna change real soon
Gold dust or bust
Gold dust or bust
Start singing a different tune.
Gold dust or bust
Gold dust or bust
Gold dust or bust
Gold dust or bust.

(CLASS exits. LUZENA and BECKY step forward)

LUZENA (to audience): Hello. My name is Luzena Wilson. I was one of the first women to
come to California during the gold rush. This is my friend Becky, and we'll be your guides today.

BECKY: You're in luck. It's January 24th, 1848, and we're near Sacramento at a new saw
mill owned by John Sutter. Luzena, you know what happened here on this fateful day?

LUZENA: I sure do.

BECKY: It's the day I discovered gold and started the gold rush. I was fishing for trout and
accidentally hooked a gold nugget the size of a Land Rover. The rest is history.

LUZENA: Becky, let's not start that again. (to audience)
Becky tends to lie a little bit.

BECKY: I remember it like it was yesterday. That nugget was putting up a heck of a fight.
I was using ten pound line and a peanut butter sandwich for bait when...

LUZENA (interrupting): Becky! We're here to watch a man named James Marshal discover
gold on land owned by John Sutter. Here they are.

(THEY step aside as MARSHALL rushes on stage from one side, racing up to SUTTER
who enters from the other.)

MARSHALL: Captain Sutter, Captain Sutter, I found gold near your saw mill.

SUTTER: Are you sure?

MARSHALL: Absolutely! I had it tested. You've got gold on your land. Gold! Gold!

SUTTER: Quiet down, Marshall. We need to keep this just between me and you. (sings)

Song 2

SUTTER :
It's our little secret
It's just between us
Our little secret
Let's not make a fuss.

SUTTER and MARSHALL:
Our little secret
We won't tell a soul
(THEY sing the last three words loudly)
Nobody needs to find out we found gold.

SUTTER, MARSHALL, and TWO OTHERS from CHORUS:
It's our little secret
We'll just tell our friends
Maybe a cousin
But that's where it ends.

SUTTER, MARSHALL, and FOUR OTHERS from CHORUS:
Our little secret
We don't have a doubt
No way our secret can ever get out.

We found gold
We found gold
We found gold
(quietly)
But it's a secret.

SUTTER, MARSHALL, and SIX OTHERS (quietly):
It's our little secret
So don't talk too loud
If we are careful
We won't draw a crowd.

ENTIRE CLASS (as many as possible crowding on stage):

Our little secret
No one here will cheat
We all are masters of being discreet.

HALF CLASS: OTHER HALF of CLASS:
We found gold We found gold

We found gold We found gold

We found gold We found gold

ENTIRE CLASS:
But it's a secret
(louder)
a secret
(louder)
a secret
(louder)
a secret...

It's our little secret
It's just between us
Our little secret
Let's not make a fuss.

Our little secret
We won't tell a soul
Nobody needs to find out we found gold.

(SUTTER and MARSHALL join class in exiting. LUZENA and BECKY enter)

LUZENA: Of course, the "secret" was soon out. In December of 1848, President
ames Polk announced to the entire nation that huge amounts of gold had been found
in northern California.

BECKY: President Polk was a great man. He invented television, and so a grateful
nation named their favorite card game, poker, in his honor.

LUZENA: Becky, stop it. None of that is true. However, the entire nation did catch
gold fever. From New England to New Orleans, people dreamed of getting rich in California.

(THEY exit, as GOLD FEVER SINGERS appear)

Song 3

GOLD FEVER SINGERS
Gold fever
All over the place
Gold fever
A terrible case
Oh gold fever
It's deep in my chest
Gold fever
We've gotta go West.

I dream of golden nuggets (Do-be-do-bah)
Gold dust in golden buckets (Do-be-do-bah)
This bug is so outrageous (Do-be-do-bah)
It's terribly contagious
Do-be-deh-do-bah, la la la la.

Gold fever
All over the place
Gold fever
A terrible case
Oh gold fever
It's deep in my chest
Gold fever
We've gotta go West.

(This concludes the first one- third of the script.)

Sample Songs

Click on the song name to hear samples. Please note that internet song samples have low fidelity and rest assured that the CDs we sell sound much better! (This player requires Flash. If you have any trouble hearing the samples, just contact us for help.)

Full Song List

1. "Gold Dust or Bust" (opening)
2. "Our Little Secret"
3. "Gold Fever"
4. "The Overland Trail"
5. "We’re Argonauts"
6. "Just One Pan Away"
7. "We are the Children of Miners"
8. "We’re Merchants"
9. "The Winter-time Blues"
10. "Gold Dust or Bust"(ending)

National Education Standards

Fulfills National Arts Standard 3 for Dance, 1 and 8 for music, and 2, 3, and 5 for Theater.
Fulfills National Social Studies Standards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
Fulfills California History Standard 4.3

Vocabulary

steer
smog
pick
bob
shack
fuss
discreet
contagious
outrageous
shilling
King Midas
flocking
mighty
swell
oxen
golden fleece
bard
affluence
poverty
El Dorado
Mother Lode
saloon
burned-out
fetching
hauling
merchant
marvelous
barley
gratify
peter out
economically
feasible
thrive

Historical Terms
rancho
pioneer
saw mill
James Polk
Overland Trail Sierras
mining camp
Native American California
hydraulic mining
Sam Clemens
Ernest Hemingway