Casting:

Flexible casting from 11-40 students.
Use as many Minutemen, Bostonians, etc. as desired;
one student can also play more than one role. There are
an awful lot of parts, but many of them have just a few lines.
Note that all roles can be played by either boys or girls;
see our comments on page 47 of the Teacher's Guide

Read the Script:

This is the first one-third of the script:


CHARACTERS:

Betsy Ross
Students
King George III
Counselors
John Adams
James Otis
Sam Adams
Bostonians
John Jay
Patrick Henry
Paul Revere
Rachel Revere
Revere Kids
Clerk
Ben Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
John Hancock
Redcoats
Minute Men
Bert
Alice
General Rochambeau
John Paul Jones
Benedict Arnold
Colonists
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
Small States
Big States
Voters
and a CHORUS comprised of all students who are not playing roles on
stage at the time 

(TWO STUDENTS step forward and address the audience )

STUDENT #1:  If you’re like me, you’re tired of the same old stories
about the American Revolution.

STUDENT #2:  Enough about George already! We want to hear from someone
else. Like…

STUDENT #1:  Betsy Ross.

STUDENT #2:   Betsy Ross!

STUDENT #1:  Finally the woman who sewed the first American flag tells
all about the stitch heard ’round the world.

STUDENT #2:  And now everybody, here she is…the Seamstress of the
Revolution…

STUDENT #1:  The Empress of Embroidering…

STUDENT #2:  The Sultan of the Saddle-Stitch…

STUDENT #1:  The Guru of Needlework…

BOTH STUDENTS:  Betsy Ross!

(Music begins as BETSY steps forward with knitting needles   and nods
at the audience. She sits in her rocking chair at the  side of the
stage.)

STUDENTS:

Tell us, Betsy, tell us                                    Song 1
Shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo shoo
Come on, Betsy, tell us
Shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo shoo

Tell us how your sewing
Helped us win the war.
Tell us, Betsy, tell us
The tales you’ve told before.
STUDENTS and CHORUS:

Tell us, Betsy, tell us
Shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo shoo
Come on, Betsy, tell us
Shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo shoo

Tell us how you tailored
Food at Valley Forge.
Tell us, Betsy, tell us
The one how you saved George.

STUDENTS:  Tell us how you knitted muskets

BETSY:  I felt it was my duty.

STUDENTS:  And then crocheted a cannon

BETSY:  Oh that one was a beauty.
 (spoken)
Oh, and it sparkled!

STUDENTS and CHORUS:

Tell us, Betsy, tell us
 (clap)
Come on, Betsy, tell us
 (clap)

Tell us how your sewing
Helped us win the war.
Tell us, Betsy, tell us
The tales you’ve told before.

STUDENTS:  How you stitched the revolution

BETSY:  You know I’m double jointed

CLASS:  You sewed the Constitution

BETSY:  No, that I needle-pointed.
 (spoken)
And didn’t it turn out fine!

STUDENTS and CHORUS (whispered):

Tell us, Betsy, tell us
 (clap)
Come on, Betsy, tell us
 (clap)

Tell us how you tailored
Food at Valley Forge.
Tell us, Betsy, tell us
The one how you saved
 (loudly)
Shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo
Shoo shoo bee doo bee shoo bee doo shoo.

STUDENT #1:  Can you tell us about the American Revolution again, 
Betsy?

BETSY:  Oh my. It’s been so many years.

STUDENTS:  Pleeeeaaaaase!?

BETSY:  Okay, okay. Well, let’s see. A good place to start is when
England defeated France and Spain in a long war.

STUDENT #2:  My dad told me about that. The colonists helped the 
British defeat the French here in America in 1763.

BETSY:  Yes, but the French and Indian War was just a small part of a
much bigger conflict.  A patch in the quilt of world politics. England
became the leading power in the world. How King George III gloated.

 (THEY exit. GEORGE III enters with COUNSELORS)

COUNSELOR #1:  Tremendous news, your majesty. We’ve won the Seven Years
War.

GEORGE III:  Well it’s about time. We’ve been fighting for…um…how many
years now?

COUNSELOR #1:  Seven.

GEORGE III:  That’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?

COUNSELOR #2:  Yes, my lord. Our victory is especially beneficial for 
our prospects in America.

GEORGE III:  America? How splendid! Did we get any of those fur hats?
You can’t beat America for fur hats.

COUNSELOR #2:  Even better, your majesty.

GEORGE III:  Better than fur hats? You don’t mean…fur sunglasses?!

COUNSELOR #1:  Your majesty. We’ve driven the French out of most of
America. The entire North is ours, as well as Florida, and everything
east of the Mississippi.

COUNSELOR #2:  Our empire’s never been bigger. We rule the seas. Our
colonies are rich and well-organized. England is the most powerful
country in the world.

GEORGE III:  In other words…

COUNSELORS 1 &2: That’s right, your majesty:
 (THEY shout)
You’re da man!

 (quickly, back and forth)

GEORGE III:  Who da man?

COUNSELORS:  You’re da man.

GEORGE III:  Who da man?

COUNSELORS:  You’re da man.

GEORGE III:  Rootin’ tootin’ right I’m da man.

GEORGE III and COUNSELORS:

We spanked old Spain                       Song 2
We flogged the French
We whipped the world
Yeah we’re a mensch.

Our colonies
Are our great joy
Hey, America
Our fav’rite toy.

And it’s great to be an empire
Everyone shines your shoes
Yeah it’s great to be an empire
Nobody can refuse.
It’s great to be an empire
In its early days
In its early ways
It’s great to be an empire
’Cause it pays.

 (During the dobro solo, GEORGE and his COUNSELORS
 do a Victory Dance.)

Now we’re in debt
Up to our knees
So where to turn?
The colonies!

They fought with us
To win the war
Hey, and now they’ll know
What they fought for.

GEORGE III, COUNSELORS, and CHORUS:

And it’s great to be an empire
Everyone shines your shoes
Yeah it’s great to be an empire
Nobody can refuse.
It’s great to be an empire
In its early days
In its early ways
It’s great to be an empire
’Cause it pays.

It’s great to be an empire
In its early days
In its early ways
It’s great to be an empire
’Cause it pays.

 (THEY exit. STUDENTS and BETSY enter.)

STUDENT #3:  What do they mean,“it pays”? Does being an empire come 
with a salary and retirement plan and stuff like that?

BETSY:  Even better. England was in debt for over 140 million pounds.
King George and Parliament figured the colonies could help pay.

STUDENT #1:  140 million pounds! Wow, like, you’d need to diet for
months to lose that.

BETSY:  Pounds as in English money, dear. The British Parliament passed
a series of acts that placed duties and taxes on the colonists. By 1767
they weren’t happy.

 (THEY exit. JOHN ADAMS and JAMES OTIS enter)

JOHN ADAMS:  Mr. Otis, what’s the latest?

OTIS:  John Adams! I’m glad I ran into you. It’s another British
outrage. They’ve passed the Townsend Acts, which put import duties on
just about everything.

ADAMS:  I didn’t think it could get any worse. We’ve already had the 
Hat Act, the Wool Act, Iron Act, Currency Act, and Sugar Act.

OTIS:  I know it. The British just can’t get their Acts together.

ADAMS:  Remember the Stamp Act?

OTIS:  A direct tax on everything we printed, from cards to calendars.

ADAMS:  I loved what you said. What was it? “Taxation without
representation is exploitation.”

OTIS: “Tyranny.”

ADAMS:  What?

OTIS:  I said “tyranny.” “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”

ADAMS:  You did?
 (pauses, then:)
Doesn’t really rhyme, though, does it?

OTIS:  It’s not supposed to rhyme. It’s an aphorism.

ADAMS:  Well of course, but the good ones rhyme. Take Ben Franklin’s
maxims. “He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing.” “Little strokes
fell great oaks.” “Plough deep while sluggards sleep.”

OTIS (interrupting):  Okay, I get it. The point is the British are not
treating us as equals but as subjects. They’ve prohibited us from
settling beyond the Appalachians. They’ve even started enforcing the
Navigation Laws so all commerce between England and here must be by
British vessels.

ADAMS:  You’re right. This has got to stop.

ADAMS and OTIS:

They’re taxing my coffee, my paper, my wine*      Song 3
They’re paying for theirs with what ought to be mine.
They’re taxing my glass—and everything I see
They call ’em “levies”—they feel like a tax to me.

They’re taxing my sugar, they’re taxing my paint
I don’t think there’s nothing I’ve got that they ain’t
They’re taxing my tax—and adding on a fee
They call ’em “duties”—they feel like a tax to me.

Taxation
Taxation
Without representation
It’s not right
Time to fight
Lai lai lai lai lai.

Taxation
Taxation
Without representation
It’s not right
Time to fight
Lai lai lai lai lai.

The Hat Act and Wool Act, the Iron Act too
The Townsend Acts, Greenville Acts, what can we do?
So what else is left? They wouldn’t touch my tea!
They call ’em “acts” but they feel like a tax to me.

ADAMS, OTIS, and CHORUS:

Taxation
Taxation
Without representation
It’s not right
Time to fight
Lai lai lai lai lai.
Taxation
Taxation
Without representation
It’s not right
Time to fight
Lai lai lai lai lai.

 (THEY all freeze on the last note. Then THEY exit. SAM    ADAMS enters
with BOSTONIANS)

SAM ADAMS:  This is the last straw, my fellow Bostonians.

BOSTONIANS:  You tell ’em, Sam.

SAM ADAMS: Did we fight the Townsend Acts? We refused to import English
goods and pay the duties. And what did they do?

BOSTONIAN #1:  They sent warships into our harbor.

SAM ADAMS:  And did we relent?

BOSTONIANS:  Never!

SAM ADAMS:  What about the Boston massacre?

BOSTONIAN #2:  Right. The British shot and killed three un-armed
colonists.

SAM ADAMS:  Did we give up?

BOSTONIANS:  Never!

SAM ADAMS:  And finally they had to repeal the Townsend Acts in 1770.

BOSTONIANS:  Yes!

SAM ADAMS:  But here we are, three years later. They’ve passed the Tea
Act. Are we going to keep paying a tax on tea?

BOSTONIANS:  Never!

SAM ADAMS:  They’ve shipped a half million pounds of tea to America,
driving down the price of tea. Are we going to buy it?
 (silence)
Well, are we?

BOSTONIAN #1:  Come on, Mr. Adams. We’ve got to have a spot of tea.

BOSTONIAN #2:  Yeah, I mean, we’re only human.

BOSTONIAN #3:  And the prices are so low!

 (BOSTONIANS mumble in agreement)

SAM ADAMS:  Listen to me! Today it’s tea. Tomorrow it’s sugar. The next
day it’s those nice fuzzy slippers with the bunny ears that keep our
feet so cozy in winter.

BOSTONIANS:  Not our slippers!

SAM ADAMS:  Yes, your slippers! How long are we going to keep letting
the British kick us around? It’s time for action!

BOSTONIANS:  Right!

SAM ADAMS:  It’s time we stopped calling soccer  “football”!

BOSTONIANS:  Right!

SAM ADAMS:  It’s time we started riding on the RIGHT-hand side of the
road!

BOSTONIANS:  Right!

SAM ADAMS:  And it’s time we dressed up as natives and dumped those 342
chests of tea into the harbor!

BOSTONIANS:  Right!

SAM and BOSTONIANS:

Down , down , down                               Song 4
Just dump it off the boat
Down, down, down
Let’s see if it can float.

Down, down , down
It’s sinking in the sea
Something’s brewing boys and it ain’t tea.
Something’s brewing boys and it ain’t tea.

Trouble’s brewing for the crown
Tell them all in London town
London town
All their lovely tea just drowned
Send some more it’s going down
Send some more it’s going down.
Send some more it’s going down.

SAM, BOSTONIANS, and CHORUS:

Down, down , down
Just dump it off the boat
Down, down, down
Let’s see if it can float.

Down, down, down
It’s sinking in the sea
Something’s brewing boys and it ain’t tea.
Something’s brewing boys and it ain’t tea.

SAM and BOSTONIANS:
Something’s brewing boys and it ain’t tea.

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