Main-Travelled Roads (Musical) Plot & Characters

Overview

Synopsis

Aggie Dingman is a happy young woman, excited about the prospect of life with her current beau, Will Hannan. However, he is not without his competition. Dave Johnson, the owner of the biggest thresher in the county also has eyes for Aggie. Following an argument and a series of misunderstandings, Will leaves the county in anger. Elsewhere, Ed Williams, the creamery man, has eyes on Lucinda Kennedy. However, Nina the Dutch Girl (German) girl is smitten with the creamery man. When Lucinda is shipped off to finishing school, Ed takes on the project of turning Nina into a ‘Yankee’ (American) girl, not aware that she wants to be one in order to ‘catch’ Ed. To follow are a series of hopes and heart breaks as the young midwesterners of the late 1800s navigate the hardships of life and love in the heartland of Wisconsin. Adapted from the renowned tales of Hamlin Garland by the same title, Main-Travelled Roads is a gem of a show with a proven track record of awards and productions.

Show Information

Book: David Hudson

Music: Paul Libman

Lyrics: David Hudson

Based on the Play/Book/Film: Hamlin Garland's Main-Travelled Roads (1891)

Category: Musical

Age Guidance: Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)

Number of Acts: 2

First Produced: 2007

Genres: Drama, Historical/Biographical

Settings: Simple/No Set

Time & Place: Rural Wisconsin, Late 1800s

Cast Size: small

Orchestra Size: Small

Dancing: Musical Staging

Ideal For: College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Late Teen Characters, Small Cast

Lead Characters

View all characters in Main-Travelled Roads

Context

Plot

Characters

Name	Part Size	Gender	Vocal Part
Woman 1 (Mrs. Dingman, Nina, Delia, Misc.)	Lead	Female	Mezzo-Soprano
Woman 2 (Aggie, Lucinda)	Lead	Female	Soprano
Man 1 (Will Hannan, Mr. Kennedy, Mutti, Otis)	Lead	Male	Tenor, Baritone
Man 2 (Dave Johnson, Ed Williams)	Lead	Male	Baritone, Bass

Songs

Main-Travelled Roads- Prologue (All Cast)

What’ll Happen (Aggie)

*Small Town Telegraph (Will, Aggie, Cast)

*Threshing (Dave, Cast)

A Fine Morning (Will, Aggie, Cast)

*Creamery Man (Ed, Mr. Kennedy, Cast)

Yankee Girls (Nina)

Old Maid/Old Goat (Delia, Otis)

Another Surprise (Aggie)

Talking Nonsense (Delia, Aggie)

Another Surprise - reprise (Aggie, Delia)

*Nina The Dutch Girl (Cast)

Proposal Rehearsal (Nina, Ed)

Yankee Girls Reprise (Ed, Nina)

You Can't Go Home (Will)

Fine Morning (Will, Aggie, Cast)

Main-Travelled Roads - Epilogue (Cast)

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

All monologues are the property and copyright of their owners.. Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this monologue, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.