as a family. Charlie returns to Martha’s grave, to explain his outlook and how difficult it is to stay out of the middle - Meditation. Jenny and Sam’s wedding day arrives. Anne attempts to explain the differences between husbands and wives to Jenny - We Make a Beautiful Pair. The ceremony takes place in the farmyard, with Rev. Byrd officiating Violets and Silverbells. Just as it ends a Confederate corporal arrives and orders Sam to report for duty without delay. He leaves immediately. At the same time Anne develops labour pains, and Jacob is sent to fetch the doctor. In the parlour the whole family paces nervously, awaiting the birth in an upstairs bedroom. Charlie, playing “heads and tails,” is certain It’s a Boy! Suddenly Gabriel appears to report that Yankees took Boy: he was wearing his little grey cap and they were sure he was a Rebel. Charlie wastes no time. James will stay behind with Anne and the new-born Martha. The Andersons break out rifles, saddlebags and bedrolls, and hitch up their horses to ride in search of Boy. Act II Gabriel tells Anne how the Yankees came through, burned down the old plantation and then told him he wasn’t slave “inventory” any longer - he was free. He “sure felt different” and has come to say goodbye - Freedom. When Gabriel leaves, Anne and James talk about their promise to each other - Violets and Silverbells (Reprise) James goes out to the well to fetch some water and is accosted by three disreputable-looking scavengers. When they learn that only he and Anne are around, they attack and kill them both. The rest of the family are miles away, resting by some railroad tracks, weary from the distances they’ve travelled and all the Yankee camps and train depots they have searched. They haven’t found Boy yet, but Charlie won’t give up. He is holding up just fine - Papa’s Gonna Make It All Right. A prisoner train is stopped, blocked by logs the family have piled up on the tracks. Charlie tells the soldiers to “go back where you belong . . . to your women and children.” One of the prisoners is Sam, who is reunited with Jenny. One corporal wonders if the fighting and killing “has all been for nothing.” The only thing he’s sure of is what’s waiting back there -The Only Home I Know. Later that evening a Confederate patrol attacks the family camp and kills Jacob. Without compunction, Charlie shoots the sniper. Then he decides they’ll all go home, to bury Jacob near his mother. Reaching the farm, they discover that Anne and James are also dead. Only little Martha is still alive. Charlie visits his wife’s grave once again to try to explain his actions during their search for Boy. It is war, he admits, but “like all wars, the undertakers are winning it.” - Meditation II. He hears the sound of church bells and realises it is another Sunday morning. Rev. Byrd is still preaching about the destruction the North is causing. When Charlie and his folks walk in, the minister welcomes them all back. Just then a bedraggled Boy hobbles in. All rejoice - Pass the Cross to Me. Mort Goode, 1988 MUSICAL NUMBERS Act I • Raise the Flag of Dixie (Prologue) - Ensemble • I’ve Heard it All Before - Charlie • Pass the Cross to Me - Ensemble • Why Am I Me? - The Boy and Gabriel • Next to Lovin’ (I Like Fightin’) - Jacob, James, Nathan, John and Henry • Over the Hill - Jenny • The Pickers are Coming - Charlie
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODU3MzQ=