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SHENANDOAH Music by Gary Geld: Lyrics by Peter Udell: Book by James Lee Barrett, & Peter Udell. based on the film Shenandoah Alvin Theatre, Broadway - January 7, 1975 (1050 perfs) STORY Prologue It is 1862, and the Civil War is raging. In the Shenandoah Valley, in Northwest Virginia, where his farmhouse sits in the middle of the ebb and flow of the fighting, Charlie Anderson, a widower, father of six sons and a daughter, is determined to keep his family out of the action, ready to hold his land and to continue farming. He promises his deceased wife that “our house is going to stand … and our family … our blood is going to stay together.” Confederate and Union soldiers sing of their sides’ resolve to win - Raise the Flag of Dixie. Charlie, at his wife’s grave, stands at centre stage, separating the opposing contingents. Act I It is Sunday morning. Inside the Anderson house the six sons (the youngest, Robert - called The Boy - is wearing a Confederate cap), daughter Jenny and daughter-in-law Anne, who is pregnant, are arguing vehemently about the pros and cons of the war when Charlie enters. All rise till their father is seated. He offers grace. The children are eager to get back to their argument. Charlie, hating “a lot of noisy silence,” grants permission but expresses the hope that they understand what war is really about -I’ve Heard It All Before. On their way to church Boy lags behind to meet his best friend, Gabriel, a barefooted black youngster, to plan to go fishing. He joins the others at church where Reverend Byrd urges duty to God, neighbours, and the State of Virginia. The congregation sings Pass the Cross to Me. While fishing, Boy and Gabriel talk about the service. Gabriel confesses he’s never been to church - slave children are not welcome. Boy would willingly change places, but Gabriel has a thought about that: “I don’t think you’d be much good at bein’ a slave. It takes practice.” - Why Am I Me? Charlie and his sons are planning their work schedule when a Confederate patrol arrives to draft the boys. The family grab rifles. The boys are not about to go. Charlie won’t permit it and threatens to defend their rights. The patrol gives up the quest; as they move off, John has a thought: “I’ll bet if we did get into this war, we’d be hell” - Next to Lovin’ (I Like Fightin’). That evening Sam, a young lieutenant in the Confederate army, comes calling on Jenny. After supper she tries to squeeze the will-you-be-mine question out of her stammering beau. She has some news for him - Over the Hill. Charlie and Boy, sitting on the porch, have watched the entire scene. Boy isn’t quite sure what Sam means by taking the girl of the household away to make a different life for her. Charlie knows that the time has come -The Pickers Are Comin’. The next morning a Confederate lieutenant arrives with six men, stating they are Federal purchasing agents, authorised to confiscate the Anderson horses. When Charlie refuses, one of the men infers that the family is “too yellow to fight.” The Andersons rise up at the insult. Charlie punches the agent, and they chase the intruders off their land. The entire family is involved in the confrontation. Charlie swears he’ll fight any man that gives him provocation, but he’s “not about to go out and hunt strangers down to kill em! And that’s what war is, boy! Open season on strangers!” The children realise then that they are all Andersons and are united

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